Shifting Gears
by eenak
Summary: Lucy has returned home to take over as head of the Reynolds Crime Syndicate. Not only is she dealing with a shift in her professional life she now has to deal with an ex, a potential lover, quarreling siblings, and D.E.B.S!
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Shifting Gears**

**Disclaimer: Don't own D.E.B.S, Pink Thunder or any of the characters used from the movie, they are all the creations of Angela Robinson. This disclaimer applies to all chapters in this story. **

**Comment: This is an AU fic that popped up suddenly and I threw the idea at a pal of mine that eventually led to a collaboration of chaos. The idea derived from watching the latest Fast and Furious movie where we said that Jordana didn't get nearly as much screen/car driving time, so we decided to create a DEBS fic with a little racing aspect, Lucy in fast cars and on a motorcycle...what's not to love? This IS a canon pairing for all of you Lucy/Amy shippers, we wouldn't have it any other way... with a little drama of course. Reviews are greatly appreciated so tell us what you like and even what you don't like. Hope you enjoy!!!**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Max waited impatiently as she listened to the computerized countdown on the loud speaker..._ten seconds_...she looked to her left, an orange and white Toyota Supra decked out with a winged spoiler and a set of Roat 18 inch rims..._eight seconds_... To her right, a yellow and green Mazda RX-7, it had similar customizations to the Supra..._could these fuckers be a little more original_, she thought as she revved the engine, with each push on the gas pedal her tires spun, causing an acrid smoke to billow from behind the car as the rubber burned onto the pavement..._six seconds_**... **

Beyond that, a white Subaru WRX, _a Subaru,_ she scoffed, completed the four-car lineup. _Could this get any easier_? There was nothing that particularly stood out on the WRX. She remembered the douche-bag driver boasting that he kept his shit white, plain, and simple, so he would look like a ghost as he left everyone else behind ..._four seconds_... She looked at the passenger seat, her wingman, winggirl in this case, sat with her face intent on the monitor in front of her, watching as the first checkpoint of the race was downloaded into the computer. She typed a few key strokes and looked over to Max and gave her a little nod letting her know that she had a set course mapped and was ready to make the slightest adjustment at any given second..._two seconds...one second...Go!_

Almost before the countdown was done Max popped the clutch and punched the gas making the '67 Shelby that she commanded shoot off the starting line, back-end grounded and front-end briefly airborne. Laying down a patch of rubber she quickly left the spectators and other racers behind, at least for the moment. Her cars' powerful engine provided her with just enough breathing room for her to feel a little more at ease with the situation. There was simply to much riding on this, too many variables involved, and far to many things that could go wrong.

Like most races, the objective of this race was simple. Get from the starting line to the finish line faster than anybody else. What made this objective more difficult to obtain was that the racers did not know exactly where the finish line was going to be. Instead of being given a complete route they were fed checkpoints one at a time, only getting a new point when the current objective had been reached. Due to the ever-changing nature of the route, every driver rode with a navigator to help them quickly adjust to the course changes.

"Where are we headed Amy?" Max asked as she downshifted and swerved to the right to avoid rear-ending a slow moving motorist. A loud angry honking and the screech of brakes being slammed was barely heard as Max continued to rocket down the roadway. Luckily it was after 3 a.m. so the roads were relatively deserted making this race a little easier then it would have been if the start time had been earlier in the evening.

"We need to get to the cross road Ocean Park and Second. Take a right on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, 20 yards. We stay on Abbot for another quarter mile, turn right on Main Street and keep straight for another quarter mile then you want to hang a right onto Ocean Park Avenue where we will run into the first checkpoint, " glancing in the side mirror Amy made a note of their competition, "The Subaru is about 100 yards out followed by the Supra and then the RX, at least I think that's the RX it's a little far back to make out clearly...they don't appear to be gaining." In addition to plotting the quickest course from checkpoint to checkpoint Amy was also tasked with making sure Max knew their relative standing in the race, enabling her to make any adjustments in speed without having to take her eyes off the road. While every second counted in a race it was just plain poor strategy to go balls out all the way from start to finish.

Weaving in and out of the light traffic Max quickly came upon the first turn that Amy had indicated they needed to take. She braked slightly before the arc of the turn and downshifted into third to give the wheels some extra traction as she accelerated around the corner to hit the next street. A slight squeal of rubber on asphalt was heard as the powerful muscle car pulled through another turn with ease. As she passed through the apex of the turn she shifted the car into fourth and once again started to pour on the speed as she passed through the first checkpoint.

Amy shot a quick glance into the side mirror, "Subaru 60 yards and closing. Position of the other two remains the same. Ok, the next checkpoint is up! Left turn in one half mile and keep straight onto Pico Boulevard for another half mile, then take a left on Route 1 and merge onto the freeway." Looking over at Max Amy couldn't help but shake her head at the slight smirk on the driver's face. _She absolutely loves this. I think she would do this everyday if she could instead of the once a week we actually get to. _Looking back at the small laptop in front of her Amy quickly scanned the map that was displayed, confirming what she already knew; she had already plotted the most efficient path. Unfortunately Amy was already developing quite a reputation on the street-racing scene for her ability to calculate the quickest route almost as soon as a checkpoint was presented to her. As a result they were usually dogged from start to finish by the other racers, who hoped to hang close enough to them so that they could overtake them in the final stretch. So far those hopes had proven to be in vain.

Max was well aware of the other racers' habit of trying to ride her bumper to an easy win and she was less then pleased with this new development as it had resulted in a few very close calls in recent races. Keeping their unwanted tag-a-longs in mind, she took the next sharp right at the last possible second. Not wanting to alert the others to her intention, she bypassed the brake pedal in favor of a rapid downshift and a quick spin of the wheel. She felt the back end of the car start to slide as the tires skipped across the pavement. Quickly recovering from the brief skid, Max cranked the wheel to the right to avoid another near accident as she hit the Santa Monica Freeway. _Don't these damn idiots have anywhere better to be at 3 am, in the morning? _

Amy pushed herself upright, having lost her balance a bit after the rather abrupt corner. A quick glance over her shoulder caused a small smile to grace her lips, "Nice move Max. That Subaru was following a bit to closely and wasn't quite able to make that turn. Assuming he can figure out the best route from this point he should be behind us at the checkpoint. The Supra and RX are still with us, 50 yards and closing. We are going to be on the freeway for a little while so those tuners are probably going to be able to close the gap." Already anticipating the better top end speed of the smaller lighter imports Max had shifted into the highest gear she had and pressed the gas pedal all the way to the floor.

The freeway stretched out before them, only sparsely dotted with other cars, leaving Max plenty of room to plan her lane changes and weave the Shelby in and out of the early morning traffic. With a high pitch whine the Mazda RX-7, followed closely by the Supra, went screaming past. The only sign that Max gave that she noticed her sudden loss of first place was a tightening of her hands on the steering wheel and a slight clenching of her jaw.

"I sure as hell hope you have a plan Bradshaw. Regardless of where the next checkpoint is you know, or at least you should by now, that in an open drag race those tuners have an advantage over us. No matter how much these dipshits like to dog us you know that they won't be able to pass up an opportunity like this."

"Trust me Max I know what I'm doing. I wanted them to get out ahead of us. If we can execute this next checkpoint according to plan it should put these two pretty much out of the running, then all we have to worry about is the WRX. Since he missed the turn onto the freeway he will have had to use surface streets and that should give us an advantage at the checkpoint."

"Well I am so thrilled to hear that you know what you are doing," Max replied in a falsely sweet voice. "But perhaps you could let me in on what exactly your 'plan' is since I am the one actually driving!"

"Well," Amy began nervously "it's simple really. You just need to stay on the freeway until we go under the Cloverfield Boulevard cross street. Overshoot the cross street by a few hundred yards and then reverse direction and take the exit onto Cloverfield. See simple." Amy finished her statement in a hurried rush, a clear signal that she was nervous about something. And if Amy was nervous it meant that she was leaving out some crucial bit of information.

Max sat in stony silence for a few seconds before responding. "Wait a minute. How the hell am I supposed to reverse direction? Unless you have missed it, there is a four-foot high cement wall separating the eastbound and westbound lanes. Now I may be good Bradshaw but even I haven't figured out how to get this car to FLY!!"

"You don't have to make the car fly Max," Amy hurried to explain. She knew from previous experience that if she didn't calm Max down immediately it could turn heated very quickly. Max had a bit of a temper. "There is going to be a small gap shortly after we pass the overpass, all you have to do is drive through it - hang a hard left and exit onto Cloverfield. See simple!" Amy tried to infuse a level of confidence that she didn't quite feel into the statement.

"Just how small is small?" Max asked, she had a feeling she wasn't going to like this.

"Well..."

"A-m-y.. "

"It's going to be a little tight."

"How tight?"

"Umm…"

"AMY!!"

"Do you remember that race we had in Riverside?"

"Remember it?" Max asked in rising disbelief. "Amy we barely survived that race, it was blind luck that we made it!" The race was not one of Max's fonder memories and she would just as soon never have it brought up again. While racing through the streets of Riverside they had been forced to shoot between two semis doing around 80 m.p.h. In and of itself not to bad, but what had made the move one of pure insanity was that it had been performed on a nearly blind curve and the trucks had been driving in opposite directions. Max had just barely made it and she still swore that her car brushed against one of the trucks.

"Well it's going to be a little bit tighter than that." Amy let the comment drop and after a brief disbelieving silence Max let loose a tirade of barely discernible mutterings. Amy was able to make out a few _crazy blonde...death wish...better hope we don't survive...ass kicking _before she thought that perhaps it was better if she stopped trying to figure out Max's dire threats and focused a bit on the upcoming course change.

"Come on Max pull it together it's only another quarter mile before we need to make this turn. It's going to take all of your formidable skill behind the wheel." Amy tired to interject as much positive feeling into the command as she could, along with a small dose of ego stroking to help with damage control.

With one last lethal glare in Amy's direction Max got back to the task at hand. "Fine. Just tell me when I need to turn. Let's just hope that none of the other drivers see it and do the same thing otherwise this little gamble of yours will have been in vain."

Max tried not to be too concerned when Amy immediately answered in a fervent tone "Oh don't worry, none of the other drivers would even think of trying to make this turn, honestly I don't think it would even occur to them. The gap is kinda small." Max rolled that around in her mind for a moment. If the guys that were driving the zippy little tuners thought that gap would be impassable she didn't want to dwell too much on how she was going to get her much wider classic American muscle car through the same space.

"Max, as you approach the overpass I need you going at 80 m.p.h. As soon as I say the word, turn the car perpendicular to the center divider and floor it, the gap we are shooting for is about 120 feet after we emerge from under the overpass. Once we are on the other side it should be a straight shot to the exit. After that, merge almost immediately onto 26th Street on the right. The third checkpoint is at the intersection of 26th and Santa Monica." Amy's voice was all business and she was once again consulting the screen in front of her. Max knew that ever since she and Amy had started on the racing circuit Amy had made every attempt to memorize the streets in and around L.A. she just hoped it was enough in this case as this was starting to look like quite a precision move. Glancing down at her speedometer she confirmed to Amy that she was on mark and waiting for her cue.

Eyes straight ahead she saw the RX and the Supra pulling away down the straight stretch of the freeway as she let her car lose some of its speed. She kept her left hand tight on the wheel, arm loose, and her right gripped the gearshift ready to either downshift or engage the e-brake at a moments notice. Passing under the Cloverfield overpass she readied herself to spring into action.

"Now!" Almost as soon as Amy gave the go ahead Max sprang into action, yanking the emergency brake and down shifting to give her car the extra traction that she needed. A quick 180-degree turn of the wheel sent the car into a sideways skid and Max could now see the divider passing by in front of them as the cars previous forward momentum continued to carry them down the freeway. Just as she was about to conclude that Amy had finally lost her fool mind she glanced quickly to the right and saw the gap that she was aiming for.

With one last muttered "crazy ass-ed blonde" Max threw the car into third and stomped the gas. The car resisted the sudden change in direction but the Shelby's powerful motor finally overcame the previous trajectory and with a reluctant lurch shot forward towards the gap. Narrow did not even begin to describe the opening that she was shooting for and she was having serious doubts that her car was going to be able to transverse the space.

Amy grimaced as the car shot through the narrow gap; she could hear the harsh screech of metal and paint meeting concrete. _Oh shit Max is gonna be so pissed. _A quick glance at Max's flexing jaw and tight knuckles let Amy know that she would be hearing more about this later. If Max was fanatical about one thing, besides her gun of course, it was her precious '67 Shelby. Leaving two giant gashes down the side would not be well received at all.

As soon as the car was free of the constrictive gap Max was able to navigate the turn to take them off the freeway easily and they soon found themselves on the deserted Cloverfield Blvd. Amy started to speak and give Max her next turn but a sudden death glare from Max quickly shut her up and she collapsed back into her seat. Merging onto 26th Street Max began picking up speed eager to get to the next checkpoint. If this race followed the previous pattern this should be the last checkpoint before the finish line was revealed. For a change Max was more then ready to be done with this and head home.

Seeing the target intersection a few hundred yards away Max let up on the gas knowing that she was going to have to make a sudden turn but at this point not knowing in which direction it would be. As soon as she passed over the crosswalk that covered 26th Street she heard Amy shout out the next direction. " Hard left! Finish line is 2 miles straight ahead. Looks like they are taking us straight down Santa Monica to the cross street with Ocean."

Years of working together and endless hours of practice allowed Max to react with lightening fast reflexes almost before Amy had finished speaking, making it seem as though she had known the destination all along. Pulling the car effortlessly through the turn Max straightened the wheel and started down the final stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard. "Do we have any friends on this final leg or are we flying solo?"

Amy quickly looked behind her, knowing Max would have been able to see any cars that might have managed to get out ahead of them, however slim the chances of that might be. "All clear, no sign of the Supra or the RX. With the exit they would have to take to get off the freeway they should be well out of this race. I don't see any sign of the…" Amy was suddenly cut off as the white WRX that she thought they had lost at the turn onto the freeway went shooting past them heading towards the last checkpoint.

"Shit!" Amy yelled as she followed the progress of the car and watched it perform a tight u-turn at the intersection of Santa Monica and 26th. "They made the turn and are heading toward the finish line. They are a few hundred yards out but the WRX has some pretty good acceleration and top speed, when you factor in any NOZ they might have on board this is going to come down to the wire."

Max let out what Amy could only be described as a snarl. While Max was all for modifying her car to perform at peak efficiency one thing that she was not a fan of was having to use boosters to win a race. She preferred to rely on her driving skills and her cars powerful engine and superb handling. The car was outfitted with nitrous oxide but she really hated to use it. In this case she was going to have no choice however as it was going to be a close call even with it.

Going into the final half mile of the race Max could see the cars and spectators lining the sides of the road around the finish line. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the white WRX blast past her with so much speed she knew he must have already engaged his nitrous. _To early junior, Amy told me you had a bit of a problem with premature ignition. _Entering the final quarter mile Max could see that the Subaru had lost the acceleration boost from the nitrous oxide and knew that it was now or never.

As soon as she pressed the button to engage the tanks, Max felt herself flattened into her seat. As much as she hated to have to use what she viewed as a bit of cheat she couldn't deny that she loved the rush from the incredible speed it afforded. With time and space running low, she kept a close eye on the WRX that she was slowly gaining on, with their NOZ already expended she knew that they wouldn't be able to put on another sudden burst of speed. The only question was if she had calculated the point that she needed to engage correctly or if she had waited to long.

Max dashed across the finish line with mere seconds and inches to spare; with a satisfied grin on her face she brought the car to a halt. She looked over to Amy who shared an equally satisfied grin, "Cutting it a little close there weren't you?" Cheering spectators and fellow drivers immediately surrounded the two girls as they exited the vehicle, giving them congratulatory pats on the back and high-fives.

The scene on Santa Monica was that of a big block party. You had guys and girls showing off their rides, some had their hoods up bragging about the newest performance part they'd added. Most had their trunks up showing off the size of their subwoofers and trying to make it louder than the person next to them. There were motorcycle racers showing off the latest tricks with their street bikes and Import girls danced all around trying to provoke as much attention as possible.

"You know I like a challenge," she said slamming the door shut and looking over to the driver of the WRX, who at the moment was giving her a death glare. "Yeah whatever, you got lucky," he told her.

"Luck? Muscle beats Import every time dipshit," Max told him.

"Yeah well, you need to put a little more effort into doing your job than you do in your races soldier," the guy responded back in a smug tone.

"Bobby will you stop being such a sore loser and just go away," Amy spoke up seeing the anger and disbelief creeping up on Max's face, which she knew wouldn't end well if she allowed them to continue. He looked over at Amy and gave her a quick wink before walking away.

"Can you believe him? How or why the hell you dated him is beyond me, he's an ass...what were you thinking? " Max asked Amy still seething and shooting daggers with her eyes at Bobby's retreating form.

"I don't know, a moment of insanity perhaps," Amy quipped as she looked over to a group of girls walking their way. She motioned her head for Max to look in the direction. Each girl sported a track jacket, some were pink and some were black, but the style of each was the same. They all had an emblem on the right side above the breast that was a silhouette of a group of girls and on the left side in the same spot it was what Amy could only figure was a codename.

The girl in front was carrying a briefcase that Max and Amy knew held the prize money that they had won. Given that they had seen several surveillance shots of the girls and particularly the one carrying the briefcase they knew what group the emblem signified. In fact they knew exactly who was coming their way, but this was the first time that they had seen the girl with this group at any of the races let alone gracing them with their winnings.

Amy took in the appearance of who she knew was the acting leader of the group, a petite girl with brown hair and of Asian origin who held a cigarette in her left hand and with the codename "_Diabolique_" on her pink jacket. She stopped mere inches from Amy and Max with the girls who had been walking with her flanking her on both sides, took a pull from her cigarette and threw it on the ground. "Congratulations," she told them as she handed the briefcase to Max. "It got kinda close there in the end, I was hoping you wouldn't let a Subaru show you up."

"No one shows me up," Max boasted as she looked in the direction of the driver of the WRX who at that point had decided to soothe his ego and surround himself with some of the import girls that were around. Amy rolled her eyes at her cocky friends words, "Us," she chimed in.

"Yeah, that's what I meant." Max said looking to her with a brief nod and looking back to the Asian girl.

"I'm Dominique," the girl said extending her hand to Max, which she took in her own and shook it and introduced herself. She then extended it to Amy which she also shook and made her introduction. "And this is my crew," she motioned with her head. They looked around at the group of girls who didn't say anything some of them just gave a slight nod in acknowledgment. "You're an impressive pair, I must say I've heard a lot about the two of you."

*****************************************

Scud looked out from the skybox with a pair of binoculars at the exchange between the girls, being second in command and the loyal henchman that he was to the Reynolds Crime Syndicate, he was also big brother to Dominique. In that overprotective way of older brothers, he always kept an eye on her especially now considering there was about to be a change in the ranks. He knew that Max and Amy were potentially being recruited by Dom to replace her and her driver in the crew as runners for the syndicate. He was a familiar face at the races and it was his job to know about all of the drivers and their navigators that were in the races.

The Reynolds syndicate was a major player in the racing scene, they organized and fronted the cash for most of the races and at times looked for new talent to join the ranks of the organization as runners. Only a select few of the drivers had knowledge of exactly what they were carrying when they went out, but everyone knew that the Reynolds were the top dogs in Los Angeles, they owned the city. Anyone who knew them knew that whatever it was they did for them was likely to be illegal. They never cared though, the pay was good and the association was even better.

He picked up his cell phone and pressed a button as he looked down on the street through his binoculars.

*****************************************

Dominique felt the vibrating in her jacket and excused herself from the conversation that she was still having with Max and Amy. She walked a few feet away and took the phone out of her jacket, "Hey."

"_We need to get going, she's arriving in a few hours_," she heard Scud say from the other end and she instinctively looked to the skybox. " We're on our way", she told him and hung up the phone. She walked back over to the crew who had now engaged in conversation with Max and Amy, being that they all were either a driver or a navigator, cars was the topic. Max had lifted the hood of her car and a few of the girls in the crew as well as some of the spectators were talking torque verses horsepower.

"Ok girls," Dominique started, getting the attention of the crew, "we gotta ride out." They all gathered around her again like they had when they first arrived. "We'll see you two around," she told Max and Amy and they all walked to their respective vehicles.

They watched as Dominique got in a pink Honda S2000, it had a picture of an anime girl on both sides with white designs in the front and back of the picture as well as on the hood, a very well thought out custom paint job.

"You think all her shit is pink?" Max turned to Amy trying to mask a smile and putting on her serious face, seeing as it would take away from her coolness to see her actually cracking her version of a joke.

Amy looked at Max and laughed, "Well I'm sure she'd be more than happy to let you check up on that Max."

With an incredulously look on her face Max turned to Amy, "You know that's not how I roll Bradshaw! And I meant because of the car and the jacket, besides, I'll leave that vegan, cat lover shit to you...it does make you suspect."

"Well, the group is named PINK THUNDER," Amy said with emphasis, "but hopefully we'll get the chance to find out," Amy laughed at Max's lame attempt at being funny also ignoring her comment, "I guess we should get going, we're gonna have a long day tomorrow."

"You're right, let's get the hell out of here." Max said as she closed the hood of her car and walked over to the driver side; opening the door she threw the briefcase in the back. With one last look at the marred paint and steel on the side of her car, she shot Amy another glare just before they both got in and closed the doors.

"Max I just wanted to..."

"Save it Bradshaw." With slight squeal of her tires Max shifted the car into first and sped away from the crowd and cars that were lining the street.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"I don't see why you wouldn't let me drive."

Dom quirked her right eyebrow and shot her brother a look laced with disbelief. "You must be joking. I kinda like getting to my destination in one piece and on time."

"My driving is not THAT bad," Scud responded defensively.

"Oh please," Dom said rolling her eyes. "I seem to remember someone that looks an awful lot like you popping the curb, taking out a mailbox, a news stand, very nearly maiming some innocent bystanders, and finally coming to a stop by smashing into a parked car."

"That was ONE time. You can hardly base my ability to drive on one teensy tiny little incident. Besides how long ago was that anyway?"

"First of all that was one of many incidents, and second of all that was less then three months ago. Besides Lucy would be less then pleased if you put any scratches on this car. You know how she is about her babies. I'm certainly not going to be the one to explain to her why her precious Rapide looks like its been through a demolition derby, I mean you do know there were only about fifteen hundred of these units produced by Aston Martin. And there is no way she would be caught dead in your car so that, dear brother, is why I wouldn't let you drive."

Scud's mouth opened and closed soundlessly while he desperately searched for an appropriate put down. While he managed to do a passable impression of a goldfish out of water he wasn't able to formulate a proper retort. Even as children the younger Dom seemed to be able to get the better of him in most arguments. But that was ok, Scud had other ways of getting to his sister, with a few keystrokes a couple dozen driving violations sounded about right or perhaps a revoked license.

While Scud sat contemplating the best way to repay his dear sister, the early morning silence was disturbed by the sound of a plane coming in for a landing. In order to alert as few agencies as possible to Lucy's return they had arranged for her to fly into a private airstrip. Plus Lucy tended to get a little cranky when she flew commercial; patience was not really one of her strong suits. The last thing that a place full of captive passengers wanted on their hands was a pissed off Lucy Diamond.

Scud and Dominique exited the vehicle, both leaning against it while watching the plane descend. "Has she said anything to you about…you know?" Scud looked over to Dom who was looking at him intently now. "No, you?" Scud shook his head vigorously, "I said something a few weeks ago, you know, just a mention that if she wanted to visit the mausoleum when she got in I could go with her but she faked phone connection problems and hung up on me." Dom nodded as she and Scud turned their attention back to the plane watching as it circled the runway. Scud stood upright, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket, he briskly wiped the spot that he had been leaning against and walked around the car pulling Dom away from it and did the same with the spot that she had occupied briefly. She looked at him with a grin in place as he stood back to give the car a once over, feeling amused eyes on him he looked over to Dominique, "Yes, I do know how she is about her babies!"

The small private plane finally taxied to a stop directly in front of the small hanger that they were waiting beside. After a few moments the door to the plane opened and as the stairs began to descend Scud began to bounce up and down impatiently. "I can't believe that she _finally_ decided to come home. It just hasn't been the same without her around. Why she felt the need to hide away in that godforsaken ice hole, where was it, Antarctica? I'll never know."

Dom spared her brother a quick glance before fixing her eyes back on the now open doorway of the plane's fuselage waiting for Lucy to make an appearance. While she was just as excited about her friends' homecoming she intended to retain her dignity, unlike _some _people. "She did what she had to do Scud. You remember how she was when her mom died. All she wanted to do was close herself off and hide. It was a rough time for her and it took months before she was able to get back to some sort of normalcy, and this time must have been even harder on her…and it was Reykjavik."

"What?"

"She was in Iceland dummy, not Antarctica."

"Whatever, they're both cold…oh, there she is!" Scud pointed out, causing the quarreling siblings to focus their attention back to the plane. Emerging from the small doorway a slim figure dressed in black from head to toe made its way slowly down the stairway and onto the tarmac. For the first time in over seven years Lucy Diamond set foot on American soil. As both siblings stepped forward almost simultaneously to greet their long time friend and boss they also took note of the changes the last few months had bestowed on her. Her once glowing tan had been faded to a more subdued dull hue and her formerly trim and lanky frame had lost enough muscle to leave her looking almost skeletal. Dark brown eyes that usually sparkled with barely suppressed mirth were now flat and weary.

Lucy shot the waiting siblings a small lopsided grin that betrayed her bone deep exhaustion. "Hey guys," she greeted, her voice sounding slightly raspy from disuse. "Thanks for meeting me out here at the crack of dawn. I know how much you hate to get out of bed Dom so I'm sure this was a great sacrifice for you."

"Damn Luce you must be getting old, it's only 6:00 a.m. I haven't even _been_ to bed yet." Seeing that Lucy appeared almost ready to drop from fatigue, Dom did her best to try to lighten the mood. "We will definitely have to work on your stamina."

Not able to contain himself any longer Scud bounded forward and crushed Lucy to his chest in a bear hug. "Great to have you back boss. It's just sucked here without you. This one here," he nodded his head in Dom's direction "has positively _no_ sense of humor."

Smiling slightly at Scuds exuberant greeting Lucy pushed on his chest to gain a little breathing room, "Nice to see you to Scud, but do you think you could ease up a bit on the grip-o-death I prefer my ribs in once piece. Besides having a cuddle fest at the airport will do my reputation no good whatsoever."

Releasing his tight hold on Lucy, Scud stepped back. "Sorry boss," he said flushing a rather vibrant shade of pink. "Its just so great to have you back. You really have NO idea." Lucy saw his eyes track once again to his sister who was now standing casually beside the midnight black Aston Martin in a pose of utter indifference. Lucy quirked an eyebrow at Dom in a clear request for clarification as to what Scud was referring to.

Rolling her eyes in exasperation Dom answered, "Oh he's just grumpy that I wouldn't let him drive on the way here. He seems to think that because he's male and older that gives him automatic rights to the keys."

For the first time since departing the aircraft, and in point of fact the first time in months, Lucy let out a genuine laugh. "Scud? Drive? My Aston? Surely you must be kidding. Scud you _do_ know that there were only fifteen hundred production models made right?"

Scud scowled, "Yeah yeah I've already gotten this speech. I get it no joyriding in Lucy's rare car collection. That's fine, you guys go ahead and live it up in all these fancy, flashy cars. They may be pretty but they don't have half the soul as my trusty old Tellulah."

Both Dom and Lucy shot him matching looks of incredulity. "Tellulah?" they cried at the same time both sounding as though they were choking on suppressed laughter. "You named that...that...thing?" Lucy asked in obvious disbelief.

"Tellulah is not a _thing." _Scud retorted clearly on the defensive about his precious car. "Okay well technically she IS a 'thing' but I know that's not what you meant. She is a classic and you both should give her the respect that she has earned."

Dom and Lucy shot each other one more look before launching into another round of laughter. "Whatever you say Scud. While I would love to sit around and discuss the relative merits of...Tellulah was it? It has been a long day and what I want more than anything is just to crash in a bed somewhere. Preferably mine and preferably soon. So while I am sure that Tellulah is a fine automobile I am glad that we have the Rapide, soulless though it may be, as I think it can get us home _slightly _faster."

Immediately snapping to attention Scud straightened and looked past Lucy towards the plane. "Sure thing boss, but one of these days I am going to finally get you to drive her and I'm telling you once you do there will be no going back."

"Yeah cuz she'll be dead," Dom muttered under her breath, earning her a death glare from her brother.

"Do you have any luggage or anything from Siberia that you want me to grab?" Scud asked Lucy deciding to ignore his sisters' blatant slander of Tellulah. For now.

"Iceland Scud, Iceland. And no nothing I had would really blend in to well here."

"Yeah I mean reindeer-skin pants are soooo last season," Scud quipped earning him a quick jab in the ribs from Lucy.

"Funny Scud, real funny." Lucy walked up to the passenger side of the car and opened the door earning her a startled look from both siblings. For her to ride shotgun they realized Lucy must be even more exhausted than she looked, which was pretty damned exhausted. Quickly rounding the car Dom opened the door and slid in behind the wheel while Scud got into the back without his usual token protest.

"See," he said pointedly to Dom as she turned the key and the powerful motor of the car purred to life. "Some people think I'm funny. You just have no sense of humor." Dom shot him a look in the rear view mirror and noted that he had his elbow perched on the divider towards the center leaning forward. Quickly punching the gas and executing a quick 180-degree turn she sent him sliding across the divider before he bounced into the passenger side door with a loud thud, his head making a cracking sound as it bounced lightly off of the window.

"Ouch!" he yelled aggrievedly, while rubbing what he was sure was going to develop into a bump. "What the hell Dom?"

Laughing as she shifted the car into high gear and streaked down the long runway that would take her to the airfield's exit and onto the roads that would lead them home she asked, "Now who's the one with no sense of humor? And judging by the smirk on Lucy's face I would say she finds this rather funny as well. Don't you Luce?" A slight chuckle was her only response.

Huffing slightly Scud decided that now might be the perfect time for a tactical retreat. Reaching behind his right shoulder he grabbed the seatbelt and drew it across his chest before clicking it into place. Better safe than sorry. Yes, he thought, rubbing the still sore spot on his head, a revoked license was sounding better by the minute.

* * *

Lucy lay in bed looking up at the ceiling willing sleep to come. After a quiet ride home she had pleaded exhaustion and escaped to her bedroom. Since both Dom and Scud hadn't yet been to bed they didn't question her as they might once have and they both went to crash as well. As tired as she was she couldn't seem to shut her brain off enough to allow sleep to come.

Being back home was bringing back so many memories for her, some good and some not so good. After accepting that she was nowhere near actually falling asleep, she finally gave in and threw her legs over the side of the bed and turned on the lamp that sat on her nightstand. She looked around the room and noticed that it was still very much the same way she left it. She looked at the wall above her bed and saw that the only men she ever took interest in were still there...the Beatles, The Who, and Bob Dylan all hung undisturbed and frozen in time in their black frames.

Looking over at her dresser mirror, she saw that it was still decorated with the many martial arts ribbons she'd won. Growing up, Lucy's father thought it was important that she learned to defend herself knowing that she would be targeted by so many rival families, so she was taught by the best teachers money could buy. She'd learned and become quite proficient in Brazilian and Korean martial arts. Her recent time spent in Japan also allowed her to become proficient in Japanese martial arts as well; meaning that not only was she a badass master criminal that could steal the spots off of a leopard, but she could also kick its ass if it was alerted to her presence.

She stood up and sighed heavily as she headed for the door. After exiting her room she headed down the hallway and descended the staircase. Looking around she noticed all the changes that had been made to the place since she was there last. She wasn't very surprised that things had changed seeing as it had been seven years since she had been home. It was never her intention to stay away so long without visiting, but she never had a real reason to come back. Birthdays and holidays hadn't been the same since her mother died; with her dad it was usually a phone call to acknowledge the celebratory occasion, and the occasional gift. Not that her father was callous and insensitive to these times, but upon his wife's death he had chosen to throw himself into building his organization and making sure what was left of his family was safe. Hearing some noise coming from down the hall and headed her way, Lucy snapped out of her thoughts and took a detour to avoid having to interact with anyone. She paused in front of a doorway and upon closer inspection realized that her wanderings had brought her to her father's office.

Slowly she turned the knob and opened the door. She supposed technically it was now her office, but she really didn't want to think to close about what that really meant. Blindly reaching for the switch, she turned on the light and blinked a few times so that her eyes could adjust. Looking around she noted that things were a lot different than she remembered them. As she walked towards her father's desk her feet sank into a luscious burgundy area rug. In front of the desk there were two identical chairs made of black and burgundy leather. Running her hands across the back of them she noted the high quality of the leather. _Daddy always did like the best that money could buy._ Behind the desk was a thickly padded, high-backed, button tufted chair, it was made of the same leather as the two chairs in front.

She pulled the chair away from the desk slowly and just looked down at it for a moment as if deciding what to do. Spinning the chair slightly until the seat was facing her she turned around and placed her hands on the arms rests. Gingerly lowering herself into the seat, as if it would jump up and bite her, she spun the chair and pulled herself forward until her legs were tucked under the desk. The desk was made of a deep rich red mahogany and the top had an inlay of birds-eye-maple that formed the shape of her fathers monogram.

Tracing her fingers gently over the L and the D in the desks surface she looked to her left and noted a framed picture resting on the otherwise unadorned surface of the desk. The picture depicted a dark haired man and woman standing arm in arm as they looked fondly upon a young girl, not more than 10, as she received her first rank black belt for Taekwondo. It was the last time the three of them had ever been photographed together. Sighing softly, Lucy leaned back and rested her head on the cool leather surface of the chair. Closing her eyes she drew in a deep breath and tried to clear her mind of the memories that threatened to overwhelm her. Almost immediately she felt her throat tighten as she recognized one thing about the office that hadn't changed, the cologne her dad always wore.

Pushing away from the desk she stood abruptly to escape the scent that she now noticed pervading the area around her Dad's chair. Looking around to distract herself she noted a set of cabinets that held a highly sophisticated security system with 12 monitors, each showing a different view of the estate. On the back wall, behind the desk, was a mahogany bookcase that ran almost the length of the wall. To any ordinary onlooker it was just a simple bookcase lined with books, but for those that knew what they were looking at it was also a secret passageway that led to a tunnel system underground. There was a maze of tunnels running under the estate and if you didn't know the exact one you needed to take, you would end up walking for miles in circles. However, if you knew the way it would lead to a garage that held many of the rarest and most valuable vehicles in her father's collection, not to mention a few prototypes that could be used for a quick getaway.

Looking to her right Lucy saw the fireplace that dominated the wall. A leather couch that matched the rest of the office furniture sat in front creating a welcoming place to lie down. Previously, the seating area in front of the fireplace had been outfitted with uncomfortable high back chairs, "Definitely different than I remembered," she said with a slight smile on her face as she approached the comfortable looking couch. She rolled her neck to try to remove some of the tension that had been a constant companion since she learned of her father's death. _My father's death. _She closed her eyes at the thought, when she opened them she suddenly felt a dizzying rush to her head. After a few moments she steadied herself and walked over to the light switch to turn it off, she then walked over to the couch and plopped down on the cool leather. Closing her eyes she finally felt some of the stress of the day begin to ebb away.

* * *

"_Lucy we have to get going, I can't believe you're not done packing yet. Your father is going to be pissed, and Scud is going to have a baby if we're not on time!" Lucy looked up at Dominique from the sitting position on the floor that she had occupied for the past couple of hours, dreading getting on the jet bound for Tokyo. "You've known about this for weeks!"_

"_Yeah Dom I know, but I really don't want to do this." The look on Lucy's face mirrored that of a 5 year old on their first day of school. _

"_It's about that chick, isn't it?_

"_What! No!" Lucy stood up and shook her head forcibly, "No, that's done and over with."_

"_Right," was all Dominique could say as a hint of a smirk shown on her face._

"_It is!" Lucy voice rose a little more than she had expected it to, upon hearing the stress in Lucy's voice, Dom decided to back down and not continue forward with this particular part of the conversation. _

"_It's just that I have the best fucking bunch of runners there is…we can't just break up the crew, I mean why would he want to mess with that…is it because it's something that I created on my own, I'm perfectly happy staying here and being a runner for the family, and I'm damn good at it!" _

"_No Reynolds should ever settle, you should always strive to be on top", Lorenzo Reynolds spoke in a reposed tone as Lucy rolled her eyes before turning to face her father, "and going to Tokyo will also be a chance for you to be more involved with the family business other than gun running. You'll be meeting with Oyabun Akihiro, he's head of the Yakuza on the island of Hokkaido. This will help to expand and strengthen our operations overseas, negotiations are already in order and you shouldn't have any problems once you arrive."_

"_Well then why am I going? If everything is already setup and the negotiations are finalized then why send me?" _

"_To make sure things go over smoothly, if I am to oversee the operations here I need someone to assure our business dealings in Japan." The tone in her dad's voice told her that this was not negotiable. "You're eighteen now Lucy," he walked to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, "it is time you become more involved in the operations other than being head of Pink Thunder, you have to make your presence known as future leader of this syndicate and you have to become the leader that I trust you're capable of being." Taking his hands off of her shoulders, he looked around, "Besides, some of the girls will be going with you, Scud and Dominique, I've already talked it over with the families and they are in agreement, the rest will stay behind and we will get more drivers to join them to do our runs from now on. Now…will you hurry up and get done packing, the jet is leaving in an hour." It was more of a demand rather than a question and all Lucy could do was nod. Satisfied, he turned to exit the room, Lucy watched his retreating form with an exasperated sigh and another eye roll. She then turned to face Dominique who got up from her seated position and shook her head, "C'mon, I'll help you finish."_

"_Lucy, what the hell!" _

_They both turned around and saw wide-eyed Scud waving his hands around the room, "Why aren't you…you're not…" stopping his verbal onslaught on trying to figure out why Lucy wasn't packed, Scud's eyebrows came together as he focused on Lucy, the look on his face turned from disbelief to inquisitive, "It's about that chick isn't it?" Dominique couldn't help the stifled laugh that warranted another inquisitive look from Scud knowing that an outburst was about to follow. Lucy forcibly threw a pair of jeans in her suitcase and stood, "What is it with you two...no it's not about that damn chick, ok!" _

_Sensing her heightened state of aggravation, Scud put his hands up in front of him in a defeated stance, "Ok, ok…it's not about the girl I got it, but can you please hurry!" Lucy turned back to her suitcase and continued the task of putting her clothes in it, "Well, if everyone would stop interrupting me with their lectures on why I'm not packed then maybe I can actually FINISH packing!" Lucy forcefully threw more items of clothing into her suitcase shaking her head. _

_"Ok well, have at it...we have a schedule to keep here!"_

_"I told you he would have a baby," Dom looked at Lucy with a grin, "but he seems to be doing more of the whining."_

_"And you..." Scud looked at Dom and with a hush toned, "you're suppose to be helping!" She picked up a shoe and watched as his eyes grew large once again, and hurled it in his direction. The shoe hit the wall with an audible THUD!_

Lucy bolted upright as she was jarred from the sleeping state that she was finally able to succumb to what only seemed like mere hours ago. After a few moments of incoherency she finally realized where she was; she swung her legs around so that they were touching the floor and she stood and stretched feeling her muscles relax as the blood in them began to flow. The only light she could see was what was radiating from the monitors on the security cameras, there were no windows in the office and she inwardly blessed her father for this seeing as light would be rather unwelcome at the moment. Navigating around in the darkness she made her way to the chair behind the desk and slowly reached for one of the lamps and turned it on, she squinted and rubbed her eyes as the light invaded them. She reached over and grabbed the desk clock that sat close to the edge; she cursed herself mentally seeing that it was close to 2 p.m. Her plan was not to have slept that long, she had wanted to dive head first into work; this would allow her to divert any oncoming emotions that threaten to surface if she didn't keep herself busy. With a quick glance at the monitors she stood and stretched again and headed for the door.

* * *

The hallway of the apartment building was empty at such and early hour in the morning except for a lone figure that looked woefully out of place with her surroundings. Dressed tidily in a white blouse, pressed plaid skirt, shiny black loafers and a sweater tied carefully around her shoulders she clashed quite noticeably with the run down appearance of the dirty hallway. She carefully and deliberately placed each foot down, almost as if afraid to step in some offending substance as she made her way forward slowly. Occasionally she would look at a small slip of paper in her hand and then back at the various door numbers as she passed by them. Eventually, she came to a stop in front of a door marked 3C.

Tucking the slip of paper into her briefcase she reached to the bottom and pulled out what looked like a hot glue gun. Placing the narrow tip of the device into the lock, she mentally crossed her fingers and carefully pulled the trigger. _Please work, please work, please work._ With a slight click she felt the lock give way and she reached towards the handle. When the knob turned easily in her hand and the door began to swing inward she let out a happy little sigh of relief. Usually it took her several tries to breach even the most simple of locks, luckily this one appeared to be so old and worn out it hadn't given up much of a fight.

Slipping quietly through the narrow gap she carefully shut the door behind her being especially careful not to make any noise. Turing around to take in the room she found a gun barrel pointing straight at her face. Letting out a startled squeak she fell back onto the just closed door with a thud. Hearing the click of the hammer being pulled back she tried to lean even further back into the door and get a little more distance between her and the gun still pointed in her direction.

Holding the impossibly huge revolver (complete with scope and laser sighting) steady in her hand, arm outstretched, her captor narrowed her eyes and glared at the uninvited guest. "What the hell are you doing here?" she growled, her voice still slightly raspy from her recently disturbed sleep. Janet leaned slightly to the left to peak around the massive gun barrel, hands held up in the universal signal of surrender, and made eye contact with one very pissed off Max Brewer.

"Hey Max!" Janet said nervously. "It's been a long time hasn't it? I mean it seems like its been ages since we have seen each other. We really should have done a better job of staying in touch I mean we were in the academy together and it really is a shame that we have fallen out of touch," Janet continued to chatter on seemingly oblivious to the still glowering Max. Dropping her hands she pushed off the door and tried to make her way past Max, continuing to rapidly ramble on. "So I though that since I was in the neighborhood I would drop in and see how you were doing. So what's new with you? I just got this new sweater do you like it?"

"Enough!" shouted Max while poking Janet firmly in the center of her chest with the gun barrel and pushing her back against the door. "My god," she said disbelievingly while shaking her head, "its no wonder you never got your stripes and had to end up with an office assignment. You really can't lie to save your life. Not to mention your abysmal B and E skills."

"Hey," Janet yelled indignantly, placing her hand firmly on her hips. "I got in here didn't I?"

"Oh please," Max said while rolling her eyes. "A ten year old could get past these locks. Only an idiot wouldn't be able to break into this shit hole." Max finally lowered her gun, while she would never admit it, the weapon _was_ rather heavy. Standing in the early morning light in her plaid silk boxers and blue cotton tank top, gun dangling casually at her side, Max still managed to radiate an air of menace.

Janet scowled, a line forming between her brows, and crossed her arms over her chest with a slightly disgruntled huff. Max opened her mouth as if she was about to say something more but was interrupted by a voice from the doorway behind her.

"Max what's going on?" Amy asked trying to talk around a rather loud yawn. Running a hand through her sleep tousled hair she slowly shuffled into the living room. Clad in a white spaghetti tank top and plaid cotton boxers, she was also sporting a gun, though it was dangling limply from her hand, clearly more of an afterthought that she had grabbed out of instinct rather than an intent to use it.

"Jeez Bradshaw is this how you great a potential intruder? Your safety is still on," Max lectured.

"Oh calm down Max, I knew if there had been a real threat there would have been the sound of gunshots instead of voices. You have always been a shoot first, ask questions later kind of girl," flashing Max a quick teasing grin she finally got close enough to see who Max had pinned near the door. "Janet?" she questioned in surprise "what are you doing here? They didn't finally give you your stripes did they?" The clear disbelief in Amy's voice caused the line between Janet's brows to grow just a little bit deeper. Finally stepping away from the door she pushed roughly past the two roommates and went to stand in the center of the rather modest living room.

From the middle of the room she was able to take in basically the entire apartment. There was a rather beat up couch that had clearly seen better days. Covered in a number of stains and burn marks she changed her mind about sitting down and glanced around to see if there were any other seating options. To her left there was a small but clean and functional kitchen, but no table and chairs. An equally beat up coffee table appeared to be the only other flat surface that was an option for her. Deciding that standing would be safer on her wardrobe Janet turned to face the other two occupants of the room.

"I have been sent here to find out why you seem to be incapable of making any progress on the Reynolds case," Janet snapped out, clearly deciding to not respond to Amy's question about her stripes. " Ms. Petrie assigned this to you _months_ ago expecting that the _top squad _would be able to make some headway." Janet's voice was laced with derision and just a little bit of satisfaction as she relayed the reason she was there. " I am here to access exactly what you are doing, or _not _doing, and to report back to Ms. Petrie any recommendations that I think will help improve your performance."

Max's eyebrows shot up and appeared ready to shoot off of her forehead. "_You _are going to tell _us _how to be more effective field agents?" Max asked in patent disbelief. She glanced briefly over at Amy as if seeking confirmation that they had both heard the same thing. Amy stood perfectly still with a blank look on her face mouth slightly agape. _Apparently I did hear that right, _Max thought to herself in dismay.

Janet took in the shocked look on both girls' faces and decided to add more insult to injury to her former squad mates. "Well obviously graduating top squad is far more overrated than I've been lead to believe seeing as it hasn't given the two of you any advantage especially where this case is concerned," Janet quipped as she turned on her heels causing Max to stumble backwards a little so she wouldn't catch a face full of Janet's hair. Janet then walked over to the dingy couch and looked around, eyeing an _Auto-Trader_ magazine laying on the coffee table she picked it up, opened it and carefully laid it on the couch and took a seat on top of it. She then reached into her briefcase that she still had clutched in her grip not wanting to put in on the floor and took out a file. Looking over to the coffee table she gently placed her bag on it and then placed her hands on top of the file before looking up at Amy and Max who were still glued in the positions they had been in since hearing of the reason she was there. "Now, shall we move on?" Janet's tone was sweet with a hint of smugness.

Amy and Max seem to visibly shake themselves out of their stupor before moving. Amy opted to take a seat on the opposite end of the couch from Janet and Max chose to keep standing but leaned against a wall with her arms folded on her chest, gun still in hand with her finger gingerly tapping the trigger while glaring at Janet. "Well…" Amy started, "it's not that we aren't making ANY progress, we're just…well we've…"

"Look," Max interjected moving away from the wall while still glaring at Janet, "these things take time, I mean we can't just waltz up to the races and announce we're there to gather info on the Reynolds…we're going for an infiltration here, these things take a bit of subtly ya know? But wait, no you wouldn't know considering you're sitting behind a desk all day with no real knowledge of how actual agents conduct themselves when engaged in actual field assignments." Janet's eyes had grown wide as she stared at a fuming Max while listening to the hurtful words, all Janet could do was sit there and fidget with the file in front of her and remain speechless.

Noticing the injurious look on Janet's face, Amy shot Max a darting glance silently pleading with her to back off. "Ok, this is obviously uncomfortable for all of us but despite what happened all those years ago we're now here having to work together again, so can we just please move pass the past and start working on this case." Amy sighed heavily as she looked from Janet to Max and back again as she waited for one of them to say something.

After a few minutes of tense silence, "Fine, whatever." Max huffed out before she took her stance against the wall again. "Fine," came the subdued response from Janet, "I'm really only here to help."

"We know Janet," Amy moved closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder while she glanced over at Max and watched as she rolled her eyes and shook her head, "so let's get started."

Looking over to Amy and giving her an appreciative smile, Janet nodded her head and began, "As I said before Ms. Petrie sent me here to get an update on your lack of progress," Janet refrained from looking at Max as she spoke opting to alternate between Amy and the file she had on her lap, "because in the last 3 months you guys haven't really reported anything new. There has been no reports in contacts made and with all of the races you guys have won within the past 6 months you really should have been making some friends by now," Janet's voice started to rise a bit in pitch, "I mean really, why haven't you guys made any friends yet, I mean I know why you…" Janet stopped mid sentence as she turned and looked at Max who at the moment was once again glaring menacingly at her and what she was about to imply, Janet quickly backtracked, "well Amy you've always been good at making friends, really…what's the problem?"

"Janet the crowd that usually are at these races aren't the type that you just go up to and ask if they want to go out for coffee later, it's like Max said things like this takes a bit of subtly, you really have to get noticed at places like this and wait for an opening to start approaching people, anything else screams set up." Amy tried to explain without sounding annoyed.

"Well maybe you can borrow some of my sweaters, maybe then you would seem more approachable and friendly but make sure you don't get any grease or anything on them because…"

"No one needs to borrow your damn sweaters Janet," Max moved away from the wall again and walked over and plopped down on the couch between Janet and Amy causing both girls to move over hastily seeing that they didn't want to be elbowed, Max then propped her feet up on the coffee table while placing her gun in her lap, "we've actually made contact with someone pretty high up in the Reynolds organization."

Janet looked down at Max's gun and with a finger she slowly slide the muzzle around so that it wasn't pointed in her direction, "Oh? Who?"

"The Asian chick, the acting leader of Pink Thunder, you know…what's her name again?" Max looked over to Amy.

"Dominique," Amy added, "but the conversation was brief and that was actually the first we've been approached by her at any of the races."

Janet picked up the file that she had in her lap and started to flip through it, "I don't see any of this in any of the briefings, you haven't mentioned any of this before, why haven't you guys mentioned this before?" Janet asked frantically.

"Calm down Janet," Amy put a hand over the file that Janet was still flipping through, "this just happened last night."

"Oh, well, I guess it could have something to do with Lucy Diamond being back." Janet trailed off talking to no one in particular.

"She's back?" Came the simultaneous response from Max and Amy, Max sat up taking her feet off the table while Amy sat up abruptly craning her neck to look pass Max and over at Janet.

"Yes, with a little prodding," Janet pulled out two photos from her briefcase and handed one to Max, it pictured Lucy hugging her second in command Scud, "we were able to get visual confirmation from the Department of Homeland Security that she arrived early this morning." She handed the second photo to Amy; it was a close-up of Lucy Diamond leaving her private jet walking towards the car.

"Speaking of those fucks…" Max spat as she looked up from the photo and at Janet "just what the hell do they think they're doing, Lucy Diamond is suppose to be our case!"

"Well, with your lack of progress," Max grabbed her gun and stood up, getting more and more annoyed with Janet for sounding like a broken record with her choice of words, "and with all the failed attempts in the past to pin anything incriminating on the Reynolds the intelligence agency thought it would be better to send another agency in as sort of a back up. I mean everything we have is circumstantial and everything about Lucy herself is mostly alleged and basically we have jack so its primarily a safety precaution to cross all T's and dot all I's just in case you guys screw up or something." Janet finished in a rush seeing the flare in Max's nostrils with every word she spoke.

"Can you believe this," Max waved her gun around looking at Amy who at the moment seemed oblivious to the conversation going on around her and completely absorbed in the picture she held in her hands. "Bradshaw…Bradshaw!" Max yelled now trying to get Amy's attention.

"What!" Amy's head snapped up to look at Max; she felt a blush creep up around her neck and over her cheeks. After Max didn't say anything immediately, Amy slightly cocked her head to the side and motioned with her hand a silent 'what' to Max.

Max noticed Amy's flustered appearance but chose to ignore it for the moment instead giving her a suspicious glare before she continued, "Do you hear this shit? They think we're going to screw this up!"

"Well I can assure you that Ms. Petrie is even less amused than you guys are with another agency interfering, when she heard the news that they would be sending them in she pounded her fist on the desk so hard that she nearly spilled the cup of tea that was sitting on it which I'm sure would've ruined her sweater."

Amy's brows furrowed as she now looked at Janet, "Well they don't actually think we're going to screw up do they? I mean allowing another agency to get involved in an undercover operation that's already in progress is clearly dangerous when they're in such close proximity, besides Bobby and Jeremy haven't even won any races since they've started on the scene so how exactly do they think they can attempt an infiltration or even get close enough to the Reynolds organization to…"

"Oooh, they sent Bobby?" Janet squealed, which caused Max and Amy to look at her as if another head was starting to form. "Amy the two of you can catch up and work things out, I remember how broken up he was when you guys broke up, oh, maybe the two of you can get back together," Janet clapped her hands with excitement, "you must be so excited to see him again!"

Max shook her head and tried to contain her laughter as she looked at Amy who appeared as if she wanted to strangle the life out of her ex-squad mate. "Yeah Amy, maybe you and ole Bobby boy can hook back up again, I'm sure his sub par racing skills…among others that you've mentioned will certainly get the ole mojo flowing."

"O-Kay…" Amy stood up and folded her arms across her chest as she looked to Janet and at Max narrowing her eyes, "this is not the dating game!" Looking back to Janet, "Bobby and I are not," Janet opened her mouth in protest, "NOT…" Amy interrupted, "getting back together under ANY circumstances, and this is the last time I would like to have this conversation…got it?"

"Got it." Max held up her hands while still trying to suppress her laughter. Janet fidgeted with the edge of her skirt before she snapped her head up looking at Amy, "Well I think he's sweet and…."

Amy put her hand over Janet's mouth and shook her head decidedly, "Not another word." Janet reached up and removed Amy's hand, "ok, I got it."

Turning her gun back to the safe position Max stifled a yawn, "Well the two of you can sit around and play catch up if you want but I'm headed back to bed." Letting out a yawn of her own Amy nodded, "Yeah, it is still kind of early, a few more hours of sleep sound good to me."

"Wait!" Janet jumped up from the couch with the _Auto-Trader_ magazine stuck to the back of her thigh, she quickly pulled it away and dropped it on the coffee table, taking a glance behind her she made sure nothing else from the decrepit couch had manage to stick to her. She then hurried towards the door opening it and disappeared, a few seconds later Janet reappeared with two suitcases in tow, "Ok roomies," she beamed, "where do I get comfortable?" Max and Amy looked at each questioningly before Max let out another yawn and then shrugged as if to say she could care less where and strutted back to her room. Amy turned her attention to her now new roommate before pointing over to the couch. Janet's eyes grew wide with shock as she registered what Amy was implying, Amy then mirrored Max's action and simply shrugged and walked back to her room as well. With a pout fully in place Janet watched Amy's retreating form and then turned her head to look at the rundown couch and frowned, "I can't believe this."

* * *

Lucy walked into the compounds main data control room and saw Scud at his desk typing away on his keyboard. One of the first things that Scud had done upon his return was perform a complete overhaul of the room to bring it up to his exacting standards. While Scud might not know a crankshaft from an exhaust pipe he was a genius when it came to computers. Suspended in air in front of him were projections of images and information that she'd ask him to gather. Finding monitors too limiting in their size, he had designed his own custom projection system to allow him to continuously expand the area he had to work with. Walking quietly behind his chair Lucy put an arm over the back and rested her hand on his shoulder.

"Jesus Luce," Scud exclaimed, jumping a bit at the contact. "You should wear a bell or something before you give someone a heart attack...me in particular."

"Yes, I'm sure every intelligence agency in the world would be grateful if I'd decide to do that," she said with a grin, "is this the info I asked for?" Scud tapped out a few more keystrokes before he stood, allowing Lucy to take the seat he was occupying. She sat down and looked at the information in front of her, there were several dossiers displayed. In her absence, Lucy knew that Scud could handle the business without a hitch she trusted that he would keep her wealthy and on top, but being away for so long, she knew she had to get caught up on the day-to-day operations of the syndicate. _First order of business..._

"Coffee, I need coffee" Lucy demanded a little annoyed with herself that she needed the hot liquid encouragement to get her started.

"I guess I was reading your mind," Lucy and Scud turned around at the voice coming from the door and saw Dom walking into the room carrying a tray that she had gotten from the butler in the kitchen, it held a pot of coffee and cup along with some freshly cut fruit and bagels, she carefully set it down on the desk beside Lucy. "Ah, what would I do without you Dom?" Lucy asked appreciatively while taking in the smell of the inviting beverage as she began to pour herself a cup.

"You would probably thank the gods." Scud answered before he ducked to avoid a stray grape that had been thrown his way.

"You know you would miss me if I were gone Scud. If you were forced to mingle with the gear heads day in and day out you would be begging me to come back."

Giving this some thought Scud could only nod his head in agreement. "Right again, oh wise one. The thought of talking horsepower vs. torque throughout makes me break out in a rash. How you can stand being surrounded by those simple-minded gear heads all day is beyond me. Give me a nice search algorithm any day."

"Hey," Lucy cried indignantly as she placed her coffee cup on the desk. "Lets not forget that I am one of those gear heads you seem to have such disdain for." Reaching over to the tray that contained all of the food she grabbed a fresh strawberry and popped it into her mouth, sighing a bit in pleasure at the fresh taste. While Iceland had served its purpose as a remote getaway its fruit and vegetable selection really left a lot to be desired. Chewing contentedly she picked up her coffee and took fortifying sip.

"Alright, lets get down to it. I can't thank you two enough for coming back here and keeping things running while I got my head together, but its past time for me to take the reins. Dom I know that you have been focusing mostly on keeping Pink Thunder up and going, and I do want to know what's happening on that front, but first I want Scud to fill me in on the rest of the syndicates business. Daddy always thought he would have plenty of time to train me on the rest of the family's holdings but since he didn't I am going to need a crash course to get me up to speed as quickly as possible."

Scud stepped up beside Lucy and gestured to his chair. "May I?", he asked around a mouthful of bagel making the words slightly difficult to understand, gesturing to the seat that Lucy occupied. Lucy stood and moved out of the way allowing Scud to retake his seat behind the computer desk. With a few keystrokes the dossiers that had been displayed since her arrival disappeared to be replaced by a myriad of charts, graphs and flowcharts. Having no idea what she was looking at Lucy leaned against the back of Scud's chair her arms folded and resting along the top of it and waited for him to begin.

"Well as you can see, the quarrying mines that we have northeast, west and south of Los Angeles show a steady increase in profits so nothing to worry about on that end. The casinos are also holding their own with a steady raise in capital," Scud entered a few keystrokes and reached over to grab a few grapes to pop into his mouth, he then entered a few more commands to isolate a particular chart. "We just recently acquired one of the Tesara's refineries in Wilmington, it will prove to be very lucrative seeing as it manufacturers gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuels, petroleum coke and fuel oil, it's the third largest in their system…"

"The third? Well what about the others?" Lucy inquired as she listened intently while pulling off a piece of her bagel and putting it into her mouth.

"Well, we are still in negotiations with the company to acquire the others, but I think they will fold soon, it's just a matter of numbers and time." Entering in more keystrokes another chart appeared in front of them, "Now here is where we have a problem." Scud looked up at Lucy dreading going further into the conversation about the exact nature of the problem, or rather the nature of who was causing it. "It appears we have a bit of steady competition on the construction front, we've been losing business rapidly for the past 4 months or so and with two active companies of our own plus the investments we have with others, we've took a significant loss." Scud waited for the inevitable question to follow.

"Well where is this competition coming from, clearly an offer should've been made to them the second you realized that they were a problem." Lucy asked not fully understanding why Scud would have allowed this to continue on for as long as it obviously had.

"If only it was as simple as buying them out." Scud answered without really fully answering.

"Well who the hell is it?" Lucy looked at Scud with clear annoyance showing on her face at her second in command for avoiding her question of whom.

"It's the Schaffer's," He looked up at her again to observe her reaction, "they've been trying to interfere in all of our business dealings, this was the only one that they actually were able to make a negative impact against so far."

Lucy smirked a little as she brought the coffee cup to her lips to take another sip, "So old man Schaffer decided to grow a set and try to work his way to the number one spot, albeit very weakly, but still…"

"No, it's not the old man." Dominique decided to join the conversation at this point to inform Lucy as to who exactly it was in the Schaffer ranks that was moving in on their territory. Lucy turned to look at her inquisitively but said nothing, a clear sign for her to continue. "It's Riley, the old man was killed about 5 months ago and she became head of the Schaffer syndicate."

After she finished her statement a picture of Riley Schaffer along with a profile of her replaced the charts in front of them, Dominique quickly gave Scud a swat to the back of the head for his idiocy. In causing his head to surge forward, a few pieces of bagel flew out of Scud's mouth, "Oww! What was that for?" He asked while looking back to Dom and rubbing the back of his head, she only glared at him. "I mean really what the hell…." Turning back around he took in the bewildered look on Lucy's face as she instinctively moved forward to look at the projection, "Oh…", he then hit the escape button causing the image to disappear.

This brought Lucy out of the dazed state that she had fallen into upon seeing the girls face. Whipping herself around she looked from Scud to Dominique, after doing this a couple of time she finally found her voice to speak, "Neither of you thought of mentioning this before?" Scud looked at Dominique having the same feeling of perplexity that her face showed, he then looked back at Lucy, "Well we just didn't think it was a good time with you grieving and all…",

Lucy shook her head vigorously, "That has nothing to do with this! As head of this syndicate don't you think something as significant as someone else moving to the head of our main rivalry is something that I need to know immediately?" She moved quickly around the desk to stand between the two looking back and forth between them.

Dominique shifted uncomfortably as she put a hand on her hip trying to remain calm under the scrutiny of her long time friend but also her boss, which was more than evident at this particular moment. "Lucy we just didn't want to bring you more troublesome news at the time, you had a lot on your mind and we just didn't want to add to that while you were taking your time to heal." Lucy seemed to visibly calm down from Dom's words, she knew that they both meant well in not telling her and she had to admit if only to herself that it was probably for the best.

Seeing her face begin to soften a bit Dominique took a chance and pressed forward, "Besides, are you really angry with us for not telling you or is it because of who it is that is in charge now?" It was a rhetorical question, from years of knowing Lucy; Dominique knew she wasn't going to get an answer.

"Look," Lucy rubbed her brows as she closed her eyes, "I've told you two that it's..."

"Not about the chick," Scud and Dominique said in unison, Dominique winked at Scud as they looked at each other with amused grins. "Yes, we know." Dom laughed as she saw Lucy's head snap to attention. Lucy looked between the two of them. "Whatever," she said rolling her eyes slightly. "So business seems to be good, except for the slight Schaffer problem which we _will_ be dealing with. I guess its time to catch me up on what has been going on with Pink Thunder."

"Things have been going well. It took a little while upon my return to straighten things up, but everyone seems to be falling into line. Most of the idiots on the street racing circuit seemed to think a girls only purpose was to stand around in skimpy outfits and stroke their egos." Dom flashed Lucy a knowing grin. "But I quickly set them straight. After they got their asses handed to them a few times they mostly learned to shut up. I think in your absence your dad kinda just let it go and had very little involvement in the circuit so the races were kind of disorganized, they were getting far to much attention from local authorities, and some of those so called drivers had no business being behind the wheel of a car."

Dom took a quick sip of her own coffee, black, before continuing. "I think I have the circuit to a point now where most of the drivers left are of a fairly high caliber. Before now it really wasn't worth looking at possible runners for us until I could get a high baseline of talent established. Scud?" Upon hearing his name Scud quickly entered a few commands and the screen was once again displaying a number of dossiers of various drivers. The screen showed a total of 4 teams, consisting of two women each. Sending a quick smile in Lucy's direction Dom said, "All women of course."

"Of course," Lucy replied with an answering smile.

"You know," Scud piped up. "You guys are lucky that we aren't bound by EOE/AA laws or we would be facing all sorts of lawsuits. While I am certainly not _complaining_ about the over abundance of nubile young women around, it really does create a lot of talk."

"So let them talk," Lucy snorted. "It's good to keep the competition wondering, besides I'm sure it does wonders for my reputation."

Rolling his eyes Scud turned back to his keyboard. "Anyway. I have compiled all of their stats and ran them through an algorithm I designed to help isolate which jobs each team would be best suited for." Lucy took a moment to look at the screen and study the data.

"Wait a minute. You say these guys are the four best teams but each of them is showing a loss against another team. A team I don't see on this list. Why is that?" Grinding her teeth a bit she asked a question that she hoped didn't have a negative answer. "Please tell me the Schaffer's aren't moving in on _this_ too?"

"No, no." Scud was quick to reassure. "This team isn't Shaffer, they're DEBS."

"DEBS!" Lucy yelled. "You're just telling me NOW that we have DEBS sniffing around? The same DEBS that have been a constant thorn in our side almost since the day I started really working for the family? The only Good DEB is a Dead DEB? Those DEBS? We really need to have a talk about need to know information, you guys clearly missed that class. What do we know about these two DEBS," Lucy asked, spitting out the last word like a curse.

The screen suddenly displayed two photos and brief bios for each of the members of the DEBS team. "Max Brewer. Age 26. She is the driver for the team, and a pretty good one if her undefeated record is anything to go by. Amy Bradshaw. Age 25. She is the team's navigator and has been flawless. She already has quite the reputation for her ability to react to course changes almost before they happen."

Lucy stood with her arms crossed across her chest staring at the two images in front of her, one a little more closely than the other, apparently lost in thought. When Lucy didn't immediately flood them with a barrage of questions both of the siblings looked at their boss and groaned in unison. They knew that look.

"Other than showing up at the races they have kept pretty much to themselves. They appeared on the scene almost immediately after your dad's death, the vultures," Dom spat out. "From what we can tell they are just snooping around trying to get information. When Pink Thunder came back on the scene they must have assumed that you were back too. I've been keeping an eye on them to see if we could get any reverse Intel but so far they have been pretty tight with information and not really talking to anyone."

Still not getting any response from Lucy, Dom continued on. "I know that on the surface having DEBS this close seems insane, but this Max girl can really drive," Dom said with reluctant admiration. "I'd been trying to figure out if there was some way that we could use them but without knowing when you would be back I didn't feel comfortable committing to anything. I was going to cut them loose but it seemed like to good of an opportunity to pass up..." Dom paused waiting for confirmation from Lucy to continue.

Scud looked over at Lucy nervously when she still didn't say anything. "See, I told her this was a stupid idea and there was no possible way you would go for this, the last thing we need right now is another complication of this caliber, no way are we getting involved with DEBS!" Entering a command Scud closed the files on the DEBS and replaced it with the spinning Reynolds family crest that served as they data systems screen saver.

The sudden disappearance of the photo that had been holding her attention so raptly snapped Lucy out of her trance. "Why did you close the file? I was still reading the stats on those two. I need to know as much as possible about them so I can best neutralize the threat. Bring those files back up so I can finish reading their information!"

"Yeah I'm sure it was their _information_ that had you so transfixed." Scud replied drolly.

"It was!" Lucy cried a bit defensively.

"Suuuure it was. I have been around you for a long time boss and I know that look. That was not the look one gets when they are reading the time splits on a multi-stage race. You have enough on your plate right now without adding chick drama into the mix."

Lucy bristled a bit at the lecturing tone in Scud's voice. "Don't forget who's in charge around here Scud. I may have been gone for a few months but I am back now and I won't have anyone telling me what to do or what I'm thinking. Now I want those profiles back up. NOW." Hearing the dangerous edge in Lucy's voice Scud quickly restored the data on the two DEBS.

Dominique knew that tone from Lucy, the 'you don't tell me what I can't do' tone, besides she knew that this may be a way to kill two birds, or DEBS with one stone and decided to press forward with the idea, "Max really is a very strong driver," Dom broke in, attempting to gain Lucy's attention and help soothe her ruffled feathers. "Before we left Tokyo I know you were starting to dabble a bit in the high stakes racing and I think that she could serve very well in that purpose."

Lucy squinted her eyes a bit and seemed to be mulling that suggestion over while still looking over the profiles. "Well...I was kinda hoping to do that myself. I think it would be fun."

"Lucy! That's insane. You're head of a syndicate now and you CAN'T just put yourself out there like that...and why are you encouraging this Dom?" Scud cried, clearly already forgetting her warning seconds ago.

Dom cuffed her brother on the back of the head and muttered, "Shut up," before directing her next comment to Lucy. "I know you did boss, but with all the changes I don't know if that is going to be feasible any longer. At least not right away. If you want to try to figure out what the DEBS are up to I think this would be a good way to do it. As it stands we know they don't have anything on us. If we tried to use them to smuggle, it could raise all sorts of complications. This is a win-win. We can keep them close without really risking anything."

Lucy broke the glare that she had been sending in Scud's direction and looked at Dom thoughtfully. It wasn't exactly what she wanted. But she had learned long ago one rarely got exactly what they wanted, life was full of disappointment. Sometimes you just had to make the best of a shitty situation. And if there were a few perks along the way then all the better. "Get it done," she said to Dom as she saw Scud drop his head in defeat. She shook her head at him before turning to leave the room.

"Wait!" Scud hollered after her causing her to pause and turn back to face him. "In the spirit of full disclosure there is one more tiny detail that you should probably know."

"And what is that?" Lucy asked impatiently, clearly ready to be done with this for now.

"Well you asked earlier about the Schaffer's." Scud said nervously.

"Yes?" Lucy questioned with a definite note of irritation in her voice.

"Well while they haven't exactly been taking over the circuit they have started to show some interest and they are beginning to make waves. Old man Schaffer didn't seem all that interested but Riley is proving to be a different story." Not wanting Lucy to dwell on news of Riley taking over which was sure to be a sore subject for a while Scud hurried to add, "And there is also a pair of DHS agents that have been showing up at the races lately as well. In fact they were the ones that came in second to the DEBS in the race last night."

Lucy looked over at Dom, silently asking her to shed some more details onto this situation. "The DHS team consists of two guys, so for the most part they are of little concern for us. My guess is that they are trying to break into the Schaffer's ranks. From what I can tell they don't seem to be working with the DEBS but we should probably keep an eye on them just in case. We can always kill them if you want, one less thing to worry about."

Lucy shook her head in bewilderment, "What are we running now, a training academy for the intelligence agency?" She then seemed to think over the option of killing the DHS agents for a moment, "But no. We'll let them be for now, killings not really my thing." Turning to walk out of the room Lucy paused in the doorway and made one final comment. "I don't care what you have to do, I want those DEBS."

"I told you it was a good idea, it'll give us a chance to turn the tables on those overzealous Catholic schoolgirl knock offs," Dom finally said breaking the uncomfortable silence that had descended since Lucy left the room.

"Yeah, but they're DEBS Dom!" Scud whined. "You saw that look on her face when she was staring at the profiles, and you know what that means."

Dominique only smiled at her anxious brother, "Oh dear brother I know very well what it means." She said giving a little wink.

"It means nothing good can possible come of this. We simply don't need that kind of complication. And…they're DEBS!"

"Well it's too late now," Dom patted Scud on the back, "we are just going to have to make sure our little friends don't learn too much while they are here. So stop obsessing, get to work and learn whatever more you can about them. I want to be prepared before we let the wolves in the door. Besides, blowing off a little steam might do Lucy a world of good. I can't imagine that her choices were all that plentiful in Iceland." Dom turned and exited the room leaving Scud alone in the data center.

Scud looked at the door the two women just exited with a dumbfounded look on his face and then shook his head, "What a pair of dogs, and they say men are pigs."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Scud squinted at the bright sunlight as he opened the door and stepped outside onto the patio. The glare of light was magnified off the surface of the pool so he had to cup a hand over his eyes to help him spot his quarry. On a pair of chaise lounges about halfway down the length of the pool he spotted his target, tucking the files he held firmly under his arm, he set off grumbling slightly to himself about having to conduct this meeting outside.

"Nice to see that you two have time to work on your tans while I have been inside, slaving away, gathering and compiling data," Scud said as he came to a stop beside the pair of chairs that held Lucy and Dom.

Lucy turned her head lazily to the side until she was looking at Scud. "Surely you're not telling me that you have had DEBS practically in our back pockets for months and you are just _now_ getting a thorough workup on who they are?" Lucy asked with mock menace in her tone.

"Um, no. No of course not but you know I had to...um...print it and stuff since you didn't want to do this in the control room."

Lucy rolled her eyes at Scud's failed attempt to gain sympathy. Knowing that he was still probably a bit disgruntled at having been overruled on the issue of the D.E.B.S. "So sorry to be an inconvenience, but someone had to do it," Lucy said, her tone making it clear she wasn't sorry in the least.

"Move to the left a bit would you, you're blocking our light," Dom spoke up for the first time from her position on the second chaise. "I finally convinced her to get her pasty ass out here and get her color back the last thing I need is you blocking the light while you stand there and pout."

"Oh like she doesn't have more important things to think about, we have D.E.B.S trying to infiltrate for crying out loud." He waived the files he had on them around to emphasize his point.

"Exactly why she needs to work on her tan silly…now move!" Scud narrowed his eyes at Dominique and reluctantly positioned himself in a more suitable spot; he did have to agree though, Lucy definitely needed the rays.

"So what have you got for me Scud?" Lucy asked, ready to get down to business, and more then a little eager to find out a bit more about a certain D.E.B.

"Max Brewer. Age 26. Her dad was career military and it seemed like she was all set to follow in his footsteps, she was looking to enter the USMA in WestPoint, until the D.E.B.S recruited her. Once she was in the academy she must have done very well since she graduated at the top of her class. She is proficient in most fields but she truly excels in small arms, demolitions and as you know offensive and defensive driving."

"Amy Bradshaw. Age 25. From all accounts she had a fairly standard suburban upbringing. Only child of two doting parents she had applied to a number of art and liberal studies programs at some of the top schools in the country as well as a few abroad. Nothing in her background suggests that she would be ideal material for the D.E.B.S. but she scored off the charts on their little hidden test. Perfect score. When she was in her senior year of high school both of her parents died in a car crash. She has been with the D.E.B.S ever since."

"She was in the same year, and in fact squad, as Brewer and they have been together ever since. They have managed to form quite a formidable team. You remember that arms runner out of Mexico, Javier Sanchez? The one that used to supply all our small arms, the carbines, assault rifles, shot guns, you know, the small stuff...well turns out these two were the ones that managed to bring him down, they caught up with him before he had a chance to cross the border. And remember that time your dad called you all pissed off and told you to get your ass in gear and find some profitable fronts in Tokyo so they could start laundering cash? Them again. Turns out they managed to bust old Uncle Marty in New York and really put a crimp in your dad's cash flow. And my old buddy Archie that I used to hack into the Department of Homeland Security with? Also them."

"Your point Scud?" Lucy asked, knowing that Scud was driving at something but not entirely sure what.

"These chicks are not small time Lucy. Unlike the rest of the idiots in federal law enforcement they can actually manage to connect the dots. I just think it is a really _really_ bad idea to bring them so close to the action. They could cause some serious problems for us. Problems we really don't need."

"Why don't you let me worry about how close they are getting to the action. You worry about making sure everything is running smoothly and we don't get hit with any unexpected surprises," Lucy said. Looking over at Scud she quirked one eyebrow in question, "And?"

"And, what?" he asked confused.

"And is that all or is there perhaps a bit more information in your little file?"

"Like what?"

"Scud..." Lucy said a clear note of warning in her voice. She really did not like having to dig for information.

"She wants to know if you managed to uncover any..._juicier_ details about a certain D.E.B. in all of your research," Dom supplied helpfully. Besides she wouldn't mind knowing if the straight-laced blonde had a bit of a wild side.

"Unbelievable. I expend all sorts of resources to find out _pertinent_ information and all you want is an idea of what you need to do to get into her pants," Scud said in honest exasperation.

"Oh I don't know," Dom said with a smirk. " I think that information could turn out to be of the utmost importance to our poor leader."

"Please," Lucy scoffed. "I do not need help to get into her pants. If I decide I want something you know it's just a matter of time before I get it." Lucy paused for a moment. "But seriously, you don't have _any_ information about her...um...preferences?"

Letting out a long-suffering sigh Scud responded. "No Lucy. This may come as a surprise to you but the U.S. government doesn't typically expend resources and man power to keep track of the dating lives of their agents on the off chance that a horny, recently returned from Siberia, criminal mastermind might find the information useful."

"Iceland," Lucy and Dom corrected together. "You would think they would be a little bit curious," Lucy said with a slight pout, disappointed that the information she was after wasn't available. "The government only cares about the boring stuff."

"Well I hate to bore you with more uninteresting details," Scud said with mock sympathy. "But there are a few more details that you should know. Like I said last night there is also a pair of DHS agents hanging around but from what I have seen they don't appear to be working together."

"The D.E.B.S. tend to work alone," Lucy agreed. "Part of the reason they have been such a pain is by not getting involved with the less competent branches of federal law enforcement they can actually manage to close a few cases."

"Well when Amy and Max aren't kicking the Pink Thunder girls around the race course," Scud couldn't resist the chance to rib his sister a bit, "they are hanging around a garage slash coffee shop called Mr. P's. Max's "uncle", a one Tiberius Phipps, runs the garage. The whole place is a front. As far as I can tell anyone that works there is somehow connected back to the D.E.B.S."

"You know," Lucy said thoughtfully "for an elite government spy agency their cover really does seem to be for shit. I should really think about giving you a bonus for a job well done Scud, it couldn't have been easy to break their cover and hack the firewalls."

Not about to let her brother bask in Lucy's praise, especially after his dig about her girls Dom was quick to set the record straight. "It's plenty easy when someone sends you the information wrapped up with a bow." Noticing the puzzled look that Lucy was sending her Dom continued, "Almost before they had a chance to set up shop we got a call out of the blue letting us know that there was something not on the up and up about Max and Amy, if we wanted to know more, they could fill us in, for a price."

"Of course I was immediately suspicious and we weren't about to just hand over that kind of money without verifying the information," Scud hurried to explain, trying to help repair his image as a master of cyber space. Judging by the look that Lucy was sending him he figured he had a bit further to go to reach that goal. "I dug into their backgrounds and on the surface they looked legit, of course knowing they were already suspect I managed to keep digging and that's when it became clear that something wasn't right. Usually when you run background on someone there is always shit in the data that doesn't match up or makes sense, fragmented records, most of it just a result of people not filling out forms with exactly the same name, putting wrong addresses, inverting numbers, it just happens and its to be expected. The history on these girls was pristine."

"Yes Scud that's just riveting," Dom broke in sarcastically, "but back to the point. We paid what they asked and the next day we got the information that Scud just relayed to you."

"How do we know this information is even good? Where did it come from?" Lucy asked, not liking the fact that they were building a plan of action on what appeared to be second hand information.

"Well we put a trace on the E.F.T when we paid for the information and we managed to trace it back to Lesley Higgins. She is some kind of desk grunt at D.E.B.S. headquarters."

"And we're sure this information is legit and not just some garbage that we are being fed by the D.E.B.S.?" Lucy asked.

"We thought of that," Dom answered "and it just makes no sense that they would be trying to launch an undercover operation and then also telling us its all a setup. It just doesn't add up. They have a leak, one that I think if we pay enough, will eventually crack the whole dam open for us. We just have to be patient."

"Interesting," Lucy mused. Deciding that she had gotten her fill of sun for the day she climbed up from the chaise. "This information is helpful. And it's especially nice to know we have a resource behind enemy lines. But this doesn't change my plans."

"Of course not," Scud said with resignation "that would be far to easy."

Lucy shot Scud a cocky grin before diving into the water. The cool water felt great on her overheated skin and she took a few moments to enjoy the feeling before shooting back to the surface. Slicking the hair back from her face, she lazily rolled and floated on her back. "So," she called to Dom, who was not in the least interested in the pool and was still sprawled out on the chaise, "when do I get to see these girls in action? I am anxious to get this plan set into motion."

"I'll just bet," Scud muttered.

"I have a race set up for this Friday. Since Amy and Max won the last race they will definitely have a spot. The other drivers will be waiting to hear from me by Thursday to see if they also get an invite."

"Sounds good. It will give me a chance to whip myself back into shape." Lucy kicked off the side of the pool and started down the length of it, clearly intending to do some laps, and effectively ending the conversation. Scud looked over at his sister and rolled his eyes a bit. "Girls," he said shaking his head.

"Please. You're just jealous cuz you know you would never stand a chance with any of the girls that Lucy gets."

"Of course I don't!" Scud cried indignantly "they're all lesbians!"

*****************************************

Dom stood near her car, idly smoking a cigarette, and chatting with the girls of Pink Thunder that were milling around. One of the things she hated the most about coordinating the circuit races since being back was the constant need to wait around for the winner to eventually cross the line. She was going to have to talk to Lucy about the possibility of promoting one of the other girls to take her place so that she could spend her time on more...enjoyable pursuits.

One such pursuit caught her eye as she walked past in barely her leather short shorts and a bikini top. So maybe waiting around at the finish line wasn't all bad, she thought, as her eyes tracked the girls' progress. The sudden buzzing of the phone in her pocket popped her out of her perusal and she dropped her cigarette and ground it beneath her toe, while reaching into her pocket to retrieve the device. Glancing at the caller ID she simply opened the phone and didn't waste any time on pleasantries.

"Get your eyes off that girl's ass and get over to the finish line," Scud said by way of greeting. Being able to tap into almost any camera in the city allowed him to keep a watch on his sister. Much to her general displeasure. "They're about ready to hit the home stretch. The sooner you dispense with the formalities of the win the sooner I can call Lucy and let her know the coast is clear for her arrival."

"Been a bit anxious has she?" Dom asked with a chuckle.

"God you have _no_ idea. I swear she's worse than a little kid at Christmas. I told her if she calls one more time I may be forced to cut service to her cell phone."

"Cut her a break Scud. I'm just glad she's able to show this much interest in anything or anyone, even if it is a D.E.B. I'm sure once she gets this girl out of her system she'll be in a much better place. She just needs to let off a little steam."

"Well I just wish she could let off some of her steam with someone that couldn't throw her in federal prison," Scud griped.

"You know Lucy. Why do something the easy way when you could break all sorts of laws and get the same result," Dom responded. Hearing the roar of engines approaching she decided to grab the briefcase of cash out of here passenger seat and head towards the finish. "I hear them approaching, need I even ask?"

"Well you could but I'm sure you already suspect the answer. Go say hi to Lucy's new toy for me, and try to keep your flirting with Max to a minimum. I don't think she bats for your team, and according to her file she knows her way around a handgun."

"You worry to much big brother. Besides, what's the fun of the hunt if you don't risk a little personal injury now and then?" Dom asked with a laugh as she cut the connection. As soon as she started to walk towards the finish she found herself flanked by Pink Thunder members and she sighed a bit internally about being constantly surrounded when she was out in public. Part of the job she supposed.

Coming to a stop shortly past where the finish line was marked she looked up the road just in time to see the cars swing around the final corner. As expected the car holding the D.E.B.S. was in the front and appeared to be in no danger of losing its position anytime soon. The Subaru WRX that she knew held the DHS agents, invited at Lucy's insistence just so she could keep an eye on the pair, was holding a fairly close second. Not wanting to increase any hard feelings towards Max and Amy, Dom had decided not to run any of the girls from Pink Thunder in this race. The final two was rounded out by another pair of girls that held some serious promise and was on her short list for an invite to Pink Thunder, and a pair of drivers that claimed to be freelance but that she knew to be running for the Schaffers'. She knew the time for putting off dealing with Riley was fast approaching, and Lucy was going to have to prepare herself for that confrontation, and soon.

Sensing that they finally had a chance to beat the D.E.B.S., Dom saw the Subaru rocket forward as they engaged their NOZ. Shaking her head at the amateur move, the exact same move that they lost with last week, Dom couldn't help but agree with Lucy's assessment that they were clearly not something to worry too much about. Just as it had last week, the end of the race played out with the D.E.B.S. crossing the finish line first due in large part to the superior race strategy of the team behind the wheel. Not for the first time, Dom lamented the waste of a damn fine driver to the employ of the federal government. Seeing that the girls had pulled the car to a stop and gotten out Dom walked over.

"A tuner?" Dominique looked at Max before walking around the Dodge Viper, Amy and Max watched as Dominique gave the car a once over with an amused grin as she stopped in front of Max and quirked an eyebrow, "I always figured you for a muscle girl," Dominique smiled at Max before handing her the briefcase that held the prize money.

"Yeah well, thanks to someone," Max looked over at Amy with an eye-roll before looking back to Dominique, "my Shelby is having some work done."

Amy walked over and stood beside Max and folded her arms across her chest, "She's just mad that I was right…she knows that as close as that last race was, that move was crucial to us winning," Amy said with a smile as she bumped shoulders with Max causing her to shake her head but inwardly she had to agree with Amy.

"Yeah that was a nice move," Dominique laughed at the two but glanced back at the car, with another quirk of the brow she had to ask, "Pink?" Max knew that at some point she would have to answer the question of why she was in a pink tuner, she just figured that perhaps it would be by that asshole Bobby, but since he had just lost another race to them, and wanted to avoid another blow to his ego, he had already disappeared. However, the question still seemed to embarrass Max and she felt herself flush, she said a silent prayer that it wasn't evident because of the dark complexion of her skin, but she already had a simple answer for the question.

"Oh, this is Amy's car", she looked over at Amy. Max knew that Amy was enjoying her discomfort by the grin that was showing on her face.

"Yeah," Amy finally added, deciding to come to Max's rescue, "I'm sure she was hoping to do a little damage to it but do you really think I would let her put a scratch on my baby?" Amy asked rhetorically as she threw an arm to rest on the roof of the car with the grin on her face growing wider.

"Yeah, how fortunate for you and your…baby", Max responded looking back to Dominique, who seemed to be thoroughly amused with the pair.

"Well it's a nice color," she nodded at Amy, "and you handled it very well", she said in Max's direction, with a smile, "you guys should bring it down…" stopping mid-sentence Dominique turned her head as she was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of motorcycle engines getting closer. She smiled and put her hands in her jacket and excused herself as she walked towards the group that had just arrived, the other girls in her crew following closely behind her as always.

Removing her arm from the Viper and with another shoulder bump to Max, Amy was now grinning like a Cheshire cat, "I think she likes you!"

Max shook her head and folded her arms on her chest and leaned back against the car while watching Dominique approach the bikers, "I've already told you, that's not how I roll!" Amy only kept grinning at Max as she turned to lean against the car as well. She then turned her head and watched as Dominique walked towards the bikers and came to a stop, as did her crew. Amy thought for a moment before she spoke, "She said that it was a nice move as well, you think they are watching us?" She asked looking over at Max for a second.

Max was staring straight ahead transfixed on the motorcycle that the lead biker was riding. Max finally spoke, "Yeah, they probably hacked into the traffic cams or something."

Both girls watched as the driver of the motorcycle reached up and pulled the helmet from her head allowing the long brunette hair that had been confined under the helmet to fall freely around her leather-clad shoulders. An obligatory headshake seemed to make the brunette move in slow motion to those watching. She then raised her hand and ran it through her hair and with one last flick of the head her bangs fell perfectly in place. The rider then took her helmet and sat it on the space in front of her then in one smooth motion she got off the motorcycle.

She approached Dominique with a smile as the others that rode up with her also removed their helmets and got off their bikes. The two separate groups merged seamlessly and now formed a circle around the two figures in the center. To the casual observer it might just look like a group of girls commingling, but really, the crew of Pink Thunder instinctively encircled their leaders ready to defend them at any moment. Watching from the skybox above, Scud, ever vigilant and concerned for the safety of his friend and sister, had sent down a few men from the organization to stand watch over Lucy's arrival.

Both Max and Amy straightened from their leaning positions on the car, "It's her," Amy spoke softly, admiration evident in her tone.

"Yeah," Max said absently. "Look at that. Clad all in black…damn that's hot. What I wouldn't give to take that for a ride," Max's tone now held an almost worshipful edge.

"Oh yeah, definitely hot", Amy agreed as she absently chewed her bottom lip while never taking her eyes off of Lucy. She found herself craning her neck a bit to get a better look at the black leather clad figure in the center of the circle. Silently she cursed the vigilance of the crew that surrounded their leader, while it undoubtedly provided an extra line of security, it also prevented her from getting a good look.

Upon hearing the breathless tone in Amy's voice Max snapped out of her dazzled state to look over at Amy and took in her friends' look of awe, "Since when have you ever been interested in motorcycles, I thought you said they were dangerous?"

"What?" Amy turned to look at Max and suddenly felt her face get warm as she belatedly realized just what Max had been referring to. _Shit. _"Oh…I mean um, well they are but that one…well…um, that one is kinda nice, huh?" Amy chuckled nervously as she stammered out her response.

Max was quiet for a long moment, which made Amy more apprehensive, a quiet, contemplative Max was much more nerve-wracking than a raging and ranting Max. To her surprise, and relief, Max just looked back in the direction of the bike nodding her head, "Yeah, yeah that is one sweet looking piece of machinery."

"Hey," Max nodded her head in the direction she was looking, "she wants us to come over there." Amy turned to look in the direction that Max had indicated and saw Dominique motioning with her hand for them to come over. "Let's do this." Max said as she tugged on Amy's shirt a little before walking towards the group with Amy beside her.

Lucy couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips as she watched the pair approach. She particularly took note that the blonde definitely looked hotter in person than she had on the profile page she'd seen earlier that week. She also noted that since her arrival Amy had been trying to get a clearer view of her, and was attempting to surreptitiously smooth her hair and clothes as she approached. _Game time, _she thought with a confident smirk.

"Hey guys this is Lucy," she heard Dominique say and knew that was her cue to snap out of her appreciation for the human form that stood in front of her. "Lucy these are the girls I was telling you about, the ones that are kicking everyone's ass here...including some of our girls" she finished looking around the circle where some of the girls gave some barely audible responses at her comment.

Lucy saw the team's driver extended her hand and introduced herself as Max, she couldn't help but smirk at the formal greeting, but she took the offered hand and shook it firmly, adding a bit more pressure then was probably strictly necessary. It never hurt to establish who alpha dog was from the start. She saw the muscles in Max's jaw bunch at the move, but gave her points for resisting the urge to return the pressure.

Next, the blonde extended her hand and introduced herself. Lucy again took the hand offered to her, careful to maintain eye-contact with the girl. Instead of the firm, almost painful pressure that she had put into her handshake with Max, Lucy made this grasp almost a caress and lightly stroked her thumb over the back of Amy's hand. She couldn't help but notice how the girls hand felt, soft and warm and she felt a shiver involuntarily make its way down her back.

At the gentle contact Amy helplessly felt her cheeks once again get warm as she chewed unconsciously on her bottom lip, silently willing herself not to blush, now was definitely not the time. She couldn't help but noticed that even after they had made their introductions, she and Lucy still held each other's hand, both seemingly either unwilling or unable to let go. This made the butterflies stirring around in her stomach a little more active and Amy knew that she now was indeed blushing.

"Lucy", Dominique interrupted and cleared her throat trying to get Lucy's attention. The action seemed to work as Amy felt Lucy slide her hand slowly out of her grasp. Amy wasn't sure if she should be disappointed or relieved that the unnerving caress had come to an end.

"What?" Lucy asked a trifle annoyed at the interruption. Like Amy, she wasn't sure if she should be relieved or not. While she was wholly satisfied with the effect she was having on the blonde, she was less then thrilled with her own reaction. The last time that she could remember someone having that effect on her was Riley.

Dominique gave her a knowing smirk, clearly recognizing the sparks that had passed between the two, and pulled at her sleeve, "C'mon, let's go watch the next race," Dom looked over at Max and a still flustered Amy, "you two, come with us."

The four girls walked to the door that led to the stairway of the skybox as the members of Pink Thunder began to scatter around, the men that Scud had sent down followed the girls upstairs. Entering the room, Dominique saw Scud hunched over the back of a chair while watching another member of the organization typing on a keyboard. Excusing herself she walked towards him leaving Lucy and the D.E.B.S. lingering near the doorway.

"Don't you ever get tired of looking at a computer monitor? You need to get downstairs and talk to some girls or something. I would ask when the last time you had some was but I'm afraid you probably wouldn't be able to remember back that far." She smirked as she watched him continue giving orders to the guy sitting at the table and attempting to ignore her.

"Girls down there?" Scud finally said with a scoff while still looking at the monitor, "Sloppy seconds aren't my thing little sister. You forget…we do live in the same house." Scud finally turned around with a smile on his face, but it soon faltered when he looked past Dom and saw Lucy chatting with the D.E.B.S. He looked back at Dom with an incredulous look. "Here? You bring them _here?"_ Dominique only smiled at him and shrugged before she walked back over to the trio.

As soon as she set foot in the skybox, Max went into spy mode taking in the details of the room. When you think skybox you think of the crappy section above the crowd that has a few rows of seats with a couple of twenty inch monitors on the wall in the back that you have to strain your neck to see because they're positioned behind you. This one, however, was much nicer, _but then again criminals always did do it big_, Max thought as she continued to look around.

It had the feel of a lounge; leather chairs were placed around the room and a small table in the middle with a mini bar that sat in the corner. Towards the front was a glass window that ran the length of the wall that gave a view of the scene below, in front of it was a table that held a pc with a triple LCD monitor. On the ceiling was a state of the art video display, much like the ones that you would see in basketball arenas but on a smaller scale, it had several screens that randomly displayed different intersections and streets in the city.

Placing her hand on Amy's shoulder, Lucy felt her jump slightly and did her best to contain her grin. "Can I get you anything to drink? Water , beer, mixed drink?"

Excruciatingly aware of the heat and pressure of the hand that was resting on her arm, Amy did her best to concentrate. _Get it together Bradshaw. _"I…um…whatever. You pick," she finally managed to stammer out. She felt the butterflies in her stomach kick back into high gear when Lucy sent her a cocky little grin before heading over to get her a drink. Amy once again found her attention riveted as Lucy swaggered over to the bar.

Walking up the mini bar Lucy stood and contemplated the ingredients before her. _Hmmm. Definitely something alcoholic. Not beer. Fruity and sweet. _With a slightly evil grin she began to grab the ingredients she would need.

"You're really going though with this, aren't you?" Scud hissed in her ear. Startled, since she had been lost in thought, she almost dropped the bottle. Managing to retain her grip she placed it safely on the bar before shooting Scud an annoyed glance,

"What did I tell you Scud?" Lucy asked him pointedly, signs of annoyance lacing her voice. Scud held up his hands in surrender, as he had many times before, and turned his attention back to the guy at the table in front of the computer. "What're doing?" Lucy asked but clearly not interested as she focused her attention to making the perfect drink for the blonde bombshell. A lazy grin spread across her face as she thought of the long smooth legs, the dark denim skirt that showed off curvy hips and she found herself wondering how they both would feel under her palms.

Lucy tilted her head a little, and caught sight of Amy, she licked her lips as she noticed how the light blue tank top raised exposing the girls' midriff a little as she pointed to something in the room. Moving higher, Lucy eyes stayed fixed on the woman's chest as she realized she wasn't wearing a bra, she licked her lips again and drew her bottom lip between her teeth and slowly released it. Shifting a little against the table Lucy looked up and saw blue eyes staring back at her. She chuckled a little and sent her another sexy grin. She congratulated herself when she saw Amy's face flush and the blonde start to chew on her bottom lip once again.

Enjoying the blondes' reaction and the fact that their eyes stayed glued to each other's, Lucy gave Amy a wink. Amy's lips parted slightly and then she swallowed hard as the butterflies made their presence known once more fluttering around in her stomach.

"I'm uploading the data from the race so I can compare it with the teams' previous races to update their…" Scud looked back at Lucy and realized that she wasn't in the least interested in what he was saying, looking over to see what had her so mesmerized, "this is retarded," he shook his head and gave an exasperated sigh as he turned his attention back to the monitors.

Amy was finally broken from her trance by Max tugging on her arm to get her attention. She noticed that Dominique had started walking towards some of the chairs. "You haven't heard the first thing we've said have you?" Max hissed annoyed as they slowly followed Dom to the chairs.

"Of course I have but I was just, um…checking out the room, it's nice isn't it?" Amy tried to portray a coolness that she clearly didn't feel, not after she had seen the way Lucy looked at her, with pure…desire? Thankful that they had arrived next to Dom, Amy only had to suffer Max's annoyed glare.

"So good, I'll let you two know where we'll be before you leave." Dominique sat down in one of the plush leather chairs and lit up a cigarette. Amy gave Max a confused look clearly unaware of the conversation topic, as she really hadn't been paying attention before.

"Yeah, we'll definitely be there…watching a little head to head racing will be a nice change of pace from these idiots trying to run you off the road on the circuit." Max responded trying to clue Amy in on what they were talking about, looking over to her Max only shook her head and made a mental note to slap the hell out of Amy for acting like a rookie.

"Well good, the more the merrier," Lucy said joining in on the conversation as she chose to take a seat on the armrest of Amy's chair and looked down at her flashing a smile she was sure would make the girl weak in the knees. "Your drink," Lucy said, handing the glass to Amy with a flourish.

Relieved to finally have something to focus on, Amy latched onto the glass gratefully and took a healthy gulp. Too late, she realized that Lucy had fixed her a mixed drink and she was sure she was going to hear more about this later. Sure enough when she glanced over to Max she caught her disapproving glare. Not wanting to appear rude to their host she commented, "Mmm, this is good I don't think I have had this before, what is it?"

Not able to contain her smirk, and in fact having fixed this drink to see what reaction it would garner Lucy responded, "Sex on the Beach." She wasn't disappointed when Amy immediately started choking on her drink. Never one to miss an opportunity Lucy immediately began patting Amy on the back trying to help her work through her coughing fit. "You ok?", she asked trying to inject just the right amount of sincere concern into her voice.

"Fine," Amy managed to wheeze out. "Just went down the wrong way. Thanks."

"Well if you want a refill you just let me know," Lucy said.

"I will, thanks," Amy responded, once again cursing the fair skin that she knew was once again betraying her embarrassment with the situation. Deciding that the alcohol might help calm her jumpy nerves she took another healthy swallow, Max be damned, and found herself sending Lucy a shy grin.

Lucy found herself unexpectedly charmed by the ease with which the blonde seemed to get flustered. She found herself smiling in return and realized that she was starting to veer into dangerous territory. She abruptly removed her hand from where it still rested lightly on Amy's back and mentally brought herself back to the task at hand. _Bed her and boot her, Diamond. _

"So," Lucy said, once again brimming with her usual swagger. "I noticed you checking me out when I arrived. Pretty sweet huh?" She felt Amy still beside her but she kept her attention focused firmly on Max. Max returned her gaze coolly and Lucy found her self once again begrudgingly admiring the girls' ability to hold her own.

Max narrowed her eyes slightly, not particularly caring for the baiting tone in Lucy's voice but knowing that she really didn't have a choice but to play along. She caught Amy's slightly confused look and realized that once again she wasn't following the conversation and was still one step behind. Scowling slightly she took note of the now half empty glass in the blonde's hand.

"Absolutely," Max responded. "I was telling Amy here when you pulled up that I would love to take it for a spin sometime," Max noticed that with this statement the confusion seemed to clear from Amy's face as she realized what they were talking about. "That was the MV-Augusta F4CC wasn't it?"

"Good eye," Lucy said approvingly. "If you play your cards right I just might let you take it for a ride." Looking down at Amy she asked, "What about you? Any interest?"

"I stick to vehicles with four wheels. Motorcycles just seem really dangerous. " Amy responded, glad that she was finally able to finish a sentence without stammering, blushing, or choking.

"You don't know what you're missing. There is nothing quite like the freedom of being on a bike. It just allows you to focus all of your thoughts on just being. If you ever decide to live a little dangerously let me know. I can't take you out on the Augusta but I have a few others that you could ride on with me. You should try it at least once."

"I'll keep that in mind," Amy replied with a smile, charmed by the earnestness in Lucy's tone when she talked about riding. She could relate to the feeling, if not the means by which Lucy achieved it, she felt that same sense of freedom when she had the chance to paint or draw. It allowed her to forget the tedious details of day to day life and just exist in the moment.

"Well I guess we should be going," Max broke in. Both Lucy and Amy swung their eyes in her direction and asked 'Why?' in unison. "Well because the race we came up here to watch is over, and you and I have to work in the morning," she told Amy pointedly.

"Well you can't go before we discuss you guys coming out to watch the head to head next week. I think it would be good for you to broaden your horizons a bit and see what's out there besides circuit racing," Lucy tried to keep her voice fairly level but there was definitely a part of her that didn't want to see the evening come to an end.

"We already discussed that," Dom replied drily.

"Oh," Lucy said with a slight grumble. Not one to give up easily she tried another plan of attack. "You plan on doing any betting?" Lucy turned her attention to Max now trying to recompose herself.

"Yeah, with all that money you guys have been winning you definitely can stand to do a little gambling," Dominique said as she blew out a puff of smoke.

"Oh, I don't know about that," Amy shifted sitting up in her chair turning her back a little to Lucy trying to divert her attention elsewhere.

"Well if you decide to, I would definitely put your money on me." Lucy boasted.

"So you're racing?" Max asked out of sheer curiosity as she mentally sized up Lucy thinking she could take her any day in a head to head, circuit or whatever other kind of race she was thrown into.

"No…," being able to read people, Lucy noticed Max inwardly trying to size her up and probably hoping that she would be driving so she could assess her skills, _any time any place D.E.B_ Lucy thought to herself. "But one of my girls will be, so I can definitely say your money's safe with me," Lucy claimed with a confident smile.

Max thought she was a little to sure of herself but decided not to get into a battle of words with the girl, seeing as she didn't want to ruin the progress they seemed to be making. "We'll see," Max replied as she stood up, "but right now I think we need to get going," she said looking pointedly at Amy.

"Yeah, it's getting late," Amy said setting the glass down as she stood noticing that Lucy did so as well causing her to brush against the brunette as she turned sending goose bumps over her entire body. Blowing out a final puff of her cigarette Dominique stood too and looked around for something to write with, seeing a pen over by Scud she went over to grab it and scribbled down an address on it.

"I can't believe you two," Scud said to his sister as he watched her write down the address of one of the airstrips they often raced on.

"Believe it," she responded with a smirk as she tousled his hair and walked to give the two the address. Saying their goodbyes, Max and Amy left and headed for their car.

Scud and Dominique watched as Lucy picked up the binoculars and looked out the glass, already knowing what she was focusing on. Dominique couldn't help the grin that spread across her face as she took in her brother's worried expression. "Clearly you've come to some rational conclusion about this Lucy," he asked taking one last stab at trying to get her to come to her senses.

Lowering the binoculars and turning around to face her two best friends with a devilish grin in place, "Oh I have indeed Scud," she said as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "the D.E.B.S poster child doesn't know it yet, but she's into me."

*****************************************

The ride home was very tense between Amy and Max, Max kept shooting death glares at Amy thinking about the night's events and Amy kept avoiding them, both the death glares and the night's events. Every time she thought about the way Lucy looked at her she felt her face become flushed and her body temperature rise, so she made an attempt to put it out of her mind.

"What the hell is wrong with you Bradshaw?" Max asked pulling Amy out of her thoughts, "We're finally getting somewhere on this case and you're acting as if this is your first op."

Amy looked over at Max trying to grasp exactly what kind of explanation Max was looking for, "I-I don't know." Amy answered honestly, really not knowing just what the hell was going on herself, she'd always been able to keep a cool head whenever they had to go undercover and get a job done, but tonight, meeting Lucy Diamond had completely floored her and she wasn't sure why.

"Well you better get your shit together and be on top of your game when we go to this head to head race, we don't need any mistakes on this one, we're finally getting somewhere and I don't want anything to mess this up." Max demanded as she looked back to the road. Max went to say something else, something that had been bugging her since they'd met Lucy but she was quickly quieted by the blare of the radio when Amy turned it on.

Finally arriving at the apartment building Amy quickly got out of the car and briskly headed for their building. Getting out of the car and slamming the door behind her, Max followed. Upon entering the apartment Max had reached her boiling point, "Amy, really what the hell was wrong with you tonight, you just seemed...distracted?" Max questioned, as if not sure that was quite the right word to describe Amy's behavior.

Stopping mid-step Amy turned around, "Wh-what are you talking about? Everything went fine." From the tone of her voice it was clear that not even Amy believed her own statement.

"Yeah everything went fine no thanks to you, you were to busy..." Max was interrupted by Janet rolling off the couch and crashing to the floor after being woken abruptly by two arguing. "Owww," came a muffled moan from the sheet encased lump on the floor. Max and Amy looked over to see her trying unsuccessfully to unwrap herself from the sheets.

Deciding to ignore Janet's plight Amy took advantage of the distraction. "Look Max it's late, we have to work tomorrow and you know we got in trouble the last time when we were late," Amy said as she turned and walked towards her room, "can we please just talk about this tomorrow?" She turned around and looked at Max pleadingly.

Being tired herself and not really feeling like dealing with Janet so late Max narrowed her eyes at Amy and stalked past her, "Fine, whatever." Shutting their doors both girls sank into the comfort of their rooms to prepare for the early morning ahead.

Finally managing to unwrap herself from the sheets that had held her captive, Janet emerged and looked around the now empty room. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine!" Janet proclaimed loudly in an annoyed tone. "You guys can catch me up in the morning, I wouldn't want to keep you." Grumbling to herself about ill mannered barbarians, she carefully situated her pink satin eye pillow in place before punching her pillow a few times before settling once more on the lumpy sofa.

*****************************************

Max and Amy arrived at the café a little earlier the next morning so that they could meet with Janet and fill her in on the late night/early morning events. Max didn't particularly like reporting to her, but seeing as Ms. Petrie had sent her to be a thorn in their side she knew she had to. Janet had also left a little early that morning since it would be her first day on the job, they had implanted her as a waitress at the café attached to Mr. P's, and Janet was very excited to finally be "in the field."

Since they'd started up, business had been pretty good considering Max was a complete gear head who could fix just about anything that went wrong with a car, and Amy was particularly good with painting. She especially loved the requests for custom paint jobs, it allowed the artist in her to rear its head without being scrutinized by Max. Along with some other D.E.B.S that rounded out the staff there was Mr. Phipps, Max's uncle and the owner of it all, or at least that was his cover. His knowledge of all things motor vehicle made him a perfect candidate for the op as well, plus it allowed him to keep an eye on the girls.

"Jesus Christ, what is taking her so long?" Max drummed her fingers along the table impatiently waiting for her food. "I knew this was a stupid idea having her work here, she should've just hung back at the apartment, or better yet, back at HQ out of the way and my eyesight."

"Come on Max, don't you think you're being just a little to hard on Janet, it's not her fault that we got stuck with her and she means well, you know that," Amy defended. "Besides it's her first day, give her a break."

Seconds later Janet emerged from the kitchen door balancing two platters in the air, she carefully placed one down at a table as she walked past then she approached Max and Amy and set their plates down in front of them. "This is not what I ordered," Max said annoyed as she looked at Janet with a frown, Janet looked at Amy and saw her shake her head as if to say that wasn't what she ordered either.

"Um…" Janet looked around at the table she previously brought an order to and saw the pair sitting there looking at her expectantly, "Oh," she scooped the plates up taking them over to the other table and switching them and then bringing Max and Amy the plates from that table. "Sorry," she muttered sheepishly as she sat down at the table.

Max began to eat and Amy sat in uncomfortable silence as she picked at the food on her plate, Janet just looked between the two for a few moments, "So um, anything new to report?" she started awkwardly as she fumbled with the saltshaker. Max eyed Amy as she continued to eat, Amy briefly took a glance over at Max but immediately avoided her gaze.

"Well we won again and got invited to another race, some sort of private head to head racing," Amy pushed the food around on her plate briefly looking over at Janet as she spoke.

"Oh? Invited by who?" Janet inquired looking over at Amy.

"By Dominique..."

"And Lucy Diamond." Max added cutting her off as she chewed on her bacon. Amy shot her a look of uneasiness.

"Yes and Lucy Diamond," she continued, "apparently they have these head to head races as a form of gambling and entertainment." Amy was cut off once again by a high-pitched squeal escaping from Janet.

"She was there? You guys met her? This is great you're finally making some progress…I knew me being here would help!" Letting her fork drop to her plate with a loud 'clank', Max looked at Janet in disbelief.

"What? You've been here barely a full week and have done nothing but relay information back to Ms. Petrie and rearrange our living room...what exactly is it you think you've help do?" Max asked in irritation.

"Heeey, I told you guys that you needed to start making friends and look, now you have the main focus of this op interested. It was the car wasn't it?" Janet asked cheerily looking between the two, "I knew I made the right choice, I knew it would work! They named their group Pink Thunder so I knew a pink car would be just what you needed to get the ball rolling." Janet bounced lightly in her seat and clapped her hands together rapidly, unable to contain her excitement.

"It most certainly was _not_ the car, it was my driving," Max responded hotly.

"Well it seems to me you have been driving all along. The only thing that was different last night was the car. I just think you're jealous that you have been working on this op for months and you couldn't make any progress until I came along," Janet countered.

"Like I said, the only thing you've managed to do was be a mouthpiece where this whole thing is concerned, you even screwed up the car, the only thing you managed to get right is that it was American made and..."

"Well you did win didn't you," Janet had to interrupt seeing where Max was going with this. Amy looked at Janet and then at the scowl that had deepened on Max's face. She mentally shook her head at the display in front of her, they'd done nothing but bicker back and forth since Janet had arrived and quite frankly she was tired of it.

"Ok, its time for us to get to work," Amy said standing up and walking hastily towards the door. Max looked at her retreating form and decided she wasn't in the mood for another lecture on why they were late. She finished off her bacon and got up while shooting another piercing glare at Janet and headed towards the exit.

"Hey," Janet yelled after the departing pair "you forgot my tip!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Amy stood in front of her closet staring at the few remaining items. The rest of her wardrobe lay strewn about her is disarray, mute testimony to her inability to find a suitable outfit. She knew that she was being ridiculous, that she was getting ready for an op and not a date. Regardless, she found herself unable to select an outfit that would suit. Letting out and aggravated sigh, and raking her hand roughly through her hair, she spun around and faced the significant mountain of clothes that lay discarded on the bed.

Picking through the pile she held up a skirt. _Can't wear plaid might as well post a neon sign saying I'm a damn D.E.B. Why did I even pack this? _Throwing it to the side she picked up a pair of jeans. _Way to casual. _A white silk blouse was the next to go, _makes me look like a damned pirate. _When she had once again discarded every item in the pile, she flopped face down on the bed in defeat.

She had spent much of the last week trying to understand her reaction to Lucy Diamond. Unfortunately, all the explanations she could come up with all pointed her in a direction she wasn't yet ready to face. Realizing that the time was fast approaching for Max and her to depart, Amy considered desperate measures. Realizing that Lucy probably wouldn't see the appeal in a bubblegum pink fuzzy sweater, she decided to forgo asking Janet for wardrobe advice. Plus, it would just invite too many questions she wasn't prepared to answer.

"Amy let's go," she heard Max yell for the fifth time within the past thirty minutes. Amy pushed herself up from the bed, and went to stand in front of the mirror. While she figured Lucy wouldn't mind her showing up in a bra and panties, Max might have a thing or two to say about it. Conceding that she wouldn't be totally satisfied with anything at this point, she finally settled on a black leather mini skirt and matching leather tank-top. Taking one last look at the disaster, she turned out the lights and exited into the hallway, she would deal with the mess later.

"Finally," Max said in relief when Amy finally appeared in the living room. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly at Amy's choice of clothing. "_That's _what you're wearing?" She asked in disbelief. When Amy looked down at her outfit worriedly she realized she should have kept her mouth shut.

"Why? Is there something wrong with it? Shit. I need to go change." Max jumped up from the couch where she had been waiting and grabbed Amy by the arm before she could flee down the hallway and disappear for another hour.

"No, it looks fine. I just thought that you would wear something a little more...practical. I mean, where are you going to put your gun?" Running her eyes up and down the snug leather that had Amy encased from her neck to about mid thigh, she didn't think the girl would be able to hide a knife, let alone the 9mm that she was partial to. Seeing the look that crossed Amy's face, she realized that even Amy hadn't thought of her gun. Suppressing a sigh at Amy's continued lack of focus, Max bit off the lecture that was on the tip of her tongue. They really did need to leave, they were running late enough already.

"Are you sure? Because I'm sure it would only take a minute to find something else."

"I'm sure," Max stated emphatically as she started to drag Amy towards the door. "Let's just get out of here so we can get there before the race ends." Max noticed that Amy was struggling to keep up and had to suppress yet another sigh when she noticed the blonde's impractical footwear. Why she didn't just wear the standard issue combat boots, Max had no clue; they went with practically every outfit. Max was just about to turn the knob and finally be home free when she was stopped short by Janet's voice.

"I don't see why I can't go," Max looked over at Janet getting even more annoyed now at having this particular conversation just as she was ready to leave.

"Janet," Max tried to maintain a little composure as she pinched the bridge of her nose when she spoke. She knew that she was very near her boiling point, "for the third time there is no logical reason for you to be there, we wouldn't be able to explain your presence, so will you just let it go already."

"I just think that if I were able to go then..."

"Janet! You are not going." Max ground out in frustration. Sometimes she really wished that she had followed her original plans and joined the Army. She knew damn well that someone like Janet and her sweater collection would never have made it through boot camp.

Amy could tell that Max was fast losing what little patience she had. Since she was going to be stuck with her for the rest of the evening, she decided to intervene and try to salvage Max's mood. "Hey Janet I have an idea," Amy said, drawing the attention of the other two girls. "You can go, but you have to agree to the cover story that we come up with." Catching Max's outraged look, Amy decided to focus her attention on Janet, who was decidedly more cheery.

"Great! I will do _anything_, I have waited so long to finally go on a mission again, this is going to be so great! It'll be just like the academy!" Janet cried eagerly.

"And we all remember how well _that_ turned out." Max grumbled under her breath, though still loud enough for Amy to hear. Shooting her partner a reassuring grin, which was met with an un-amused glare, Amy continued to outline her plan to Janet.

"Fantastic!" Amy declared, shooting Janet a reassuring smile. "So now we just need to build up you're back story and cover."

"This is so exciting," Janet practically squealed in excitement.

"Since Dom has seen us around at quite a few races already, I don't think it would work to have you be part of our racing crew, so I think your ties to the two of us will have to be more personal."

"So, I would be like your sister, or cousin?"

"Um. Not exactly. It really wouldn't do much to improve our reputation as racers if we started dragging our family along to cheer us on."

"Well then who would I be?" Janet asked puzzled.

"Max's girlfriend." Amy let the statement drop and was met by an initial moment of stunned silence. She held her breath as she waited for Janet's response. If she had calculated incorrectly, and Janet decided to go along with her plan she knew with almost 100 percent certainty that her time on this earth would be severely limited because Max would surely kill her. To her relief, Janet did not remain silent for long.

"What! Ewwww. There is NO way I am going along with _that_!" Janet cried, her horror at the very idea easy to detect in her tone.

"What! Are you insane," Max yelled, outraged. "Wait. What the hell do you mean ewwww?"

"Well not that there's anything wrong with you..."

"Gee, thanks," Max cut in sarcastically.

"...but I am just so not into that."

"Well if you can't do it, you can't do it." Amy said briskly, turning towards the door. "Max are you ready to go, we're gonna be late?"

"Am I ready to go? You have got to be kidding me," Max replied incredulously, Amy's comment effectively distracting her from what could've turned into quite a shouting match between herself and Janet. Deciding to cut her losses and leave while the opportunity presented itself, she strode towards the door and grabbed her jacket from the coat rack by the door. Turning the handle she jerked the door open and hurried into the hall without another word.

Amy turned back towards Janet and sent her an apologetic smile. "I tried. Maybe next time, don't wait up we'll fill you in tomorrow on how it goes." By the time Amy had finished her farewell to Janet and turned back toward the door, she noticed Max was halfway down the corridor and had to practically run to catch up. She once again cursed the short amount of time she had to get ready. Surely if she had been given more time to prepare, she would have been able to find more suitable shoes.

When she finally got to the car, it was already running and she could see Max in the driver's seat drumming her fingers impatiently on the wheel, clearly ready to be on her way. Opening the door and slipping into the passenger's seat, Amy barely had time to close the door before Max shoved the car into gear and punched the gas, sending the car squealing out of the parking lot.

"Hey," Amy cried, annoyed. "Let me at least close the door and get buckled in before you go tearing out of here. Geez we aren't that late." Amy flinched a bit as Max shot her an irate look in response. The last thing she needed was to piss Max off before they even got there. Ever since the op last week she had been rather prickly and Amy had been doing her best to avoid her as much as possible.

"Well if it hadn't taken you _hours_ to pick out an outfit, I wouldn't have to be in such a hurry," Max growled, "Which reminds me of something I've been _trying_ to talk to you about all week. I've been thinking about what was bothering me about the meet with Diamond last week." Amy groaned internally knowing that she would be unable to run from this as she had done previously. "At first I thought you were just nervous about meeting such a notorious criminal, but the more I replayed the scene, that wasn't it at all. You were flirting with her."

Amy absorbed Max's last words with a sense of inevitability. The fact that she been dancing around all week and trying to avoid facing Max had just slapped her in the face. She _had_ been flirting with Lucy Diamond. Totally unprofessional, not to mention just generally unwise. She was about to launch into a defense of her previous actions when Max's next words stopped her cold.

"Good work Bradshaw. I'm glad you picked up on it because I don't think I wouldn't have been able to pull that one off." Max still had all of her concentration on navigating the sleek sports car through the early evening traffic, so she was oblivious to Amy's look of total shock.

"What?" Amy finally managed to get out, her mind still reeling from the knowledge that Max knew she had been flirting with the suspect, and that she was not only ok with it, but appeared downright happy about it.

"Well you clearly picked up on a vibe that I wasn't seeing and responded to it. Good work. I almost feel bad that I was pissed that you didn't have your head in the op." Amy managed a weak smile, and chose not to correct Max's impression of the previous meeting. "So do you think she's really into you or was she just testing the waters so to speak?"

"Well, um. I think…" Amy stuttered out. When Max shot her a curious look, she decided to just go with the truth and hope Max simply attributed it to her superior observation skills and dedication to the job, and didn't read anything else into it. "I think that she is used to having women fall at her feet. I don't know if she was hitting on me per se, or if that's just how she is normally. I guess we will see how she is tonight." Amy hoped that Max would let the subject drop, but soon discovered that she would have no such luck.

"I think you need to do more than see how she reacts. I think you need to exploit whatever advantage we have to get this job done."

"Exploit?" Amy questioned, not liking the sound of this one little bit. She recognized the determined tone of Max's voice. It was her 'get the job done by whatever means necessary and damn the consequences' tone. Once Max developed that mindset on an operation, they did usually make progress and get it done, but usually not without some sacrifices, and Amy had a feeling she was about to end up being the sacrifice. _But what a way to go, _she thought before bringing her mind back to the present.

"We have been on this case for months with no progress. Diamond comes back, and suddenly we are getting invited to her private sky-box and to watch high stakes races at some airfield. Clearly there is something that she sees in us that she likes. Judging by how last week played out, I am going to go out on a limb and assume it's not me. If she wants you, she is going to go after you. I'm not saying that you have to compromise yourself for the job, but you can string her along a bit right?"

"String her along?" Amy echoed weakly. Clearing her suddenly dry throat and trying to regain some of her composure before Max figured out she was thrown off her stride by the suggestion.

"Yeah, you know. Flirt back. Let her think she has a chance. Just keep her interested. In fact if she's as used to having chicks fall at her feet as you seem to think, she might even be intrigued by the challenge."

"Right," Amy said, nodding her head slightly, trying to convince herself as much as Max that she could do this. "I guess I can do that. I mean after all its not like I'm in any danger of falling prey to her charms, right?" Amy asked with false bravado.

Max diverted her attention from the road long enough to send Amy a slightly skeptical glance. "Right. So then it's agreed. The plan is for you to get close to Diamond while I try to win them over with my superior driving skills."

"Or you could try to cozy up to Dom, I really do think she likes you," Amy taunted; she couldn't help but smile and take this opportunity to send a little dig in Max's direction. She also didn't want to pass up an opportunity to move the scrutiny off of Lucy and her reaction to her.

"I don't think so Bradshaw. I'll handle the cars you handle the chicks." Amy felt her face flush and she knew she was blushing furiously. _Damn fair skin. _Try as she might, she couldn't stop the images of her _handling_ Lucy from parading across her mind in rather vivid detail. Wanting to end this topic of conversation, she said the only thing that would come to her.

"Are we there yet?"

* * *

"Are they here yet?" Lucy asked. Since she had her attention focused on the mirror in front of her, and was re-checking her appearance, she missed Scud rolling his eyes at her question. Dom, who happened to be walking past her brother, did manage to catch the action and gave him a swat to the back of the head for his troubles.

"No, they _aren't _here yet. I would have told you if they were." Scud said, while rubbing the spot on his head that Dom had impacted.

"Well they better get here soon or the plan is going to be utterly useless." Dom stated, taking a drag on her cigarette. She finished walking past the desk, where Scud had his computer set-up, and settled on the couch that was near the center of the room. "The last thing we need is to forfeit our first race after your return."

"Oh we won't forfeit. I don't care if I have to race this thing myself, we will not lose," Lucy answered emphatically as she turned from the mirror. All week she had been both looking forward to, and dreading this event. When Dom had first brought up the idea of starting a high stakes racing circuit, it had seemed like a great idea. Especially since it was just the thing she needed to lure the D.E.B.S. a little bit closer without raising too many suspicions.

While she had figured it would get off to a slow start, she wasn't quite prepared for just how slow. Dom had reported that there was quite a bit of buzz about the idea, and if all of the people milling about in the main hanger area were any indication, she had been right. Despite the buzz, it seemed that most people were not yet ready to part with that amount of money on the outcome of one race. As a result they had only one taker; this race was going to consist of a head to head battle, one driver representing each sponsor's stake.

"You know, you are going to have to go out there and face her eventually. You can't hide in here forever." Scud's statement brought her out of her reverie.

"I'm not hiding," Lucy retorted defensively. "I just don't want to go out there and deal with the crowd. Besides, what's the point of having a VIP lounge if I don't use it?" Lucy spun in a small circle and indicated the room that they were currently occupying. It was actually a room within the VIP lounge, which normally served as a security area. Since only the Reynolds' organization had access, all they had needed to do was bring in the necessary computer equipment to make Scud happy, so he and his boys could keep an eye on things.

The rest of VIP lounge had luckily already been set up. Complete with a bar and an area that hosted a high stakes poker game, which Lucy made a mental note to go play a few hands before the night was over. After coming up with the idea of a high stakes race, Dom knew that one of the first things she would have to do was find some place to hold it. They had finally decided on the private airstrip that the Reynolds family owned under one of its legitimate business holdings. After all, there was nothing illegal in a little friendly racing.

Since this was a high stakes holding, they knew that they would need to convert the hanger into a luxury lounge for the other high stake gamblers. They had brought in a few jumbo-trons, with chairs and couches set up around them to make viewing the races easier. There was an open bar, which housed all of the expensive champagnes and liquors that any high stakes gambler could appreciate, especially after losing a few million. Finally they had contracted a DJ to keep the gamblers and their entourages entertained before and after the races. And of course, the ever present tuner girls, hot chicks, fast cars and expensive liquor…what more could a crime lord ask for?

One other thing that the hangar currently held was Riley Schaffer. Newly minted head of the Schaffer crime family. Her sworn enemy. Her biggest professional rival. Her first serious girlfriend. Her first ex. The person she was _not_ hiding from.

In her attempt to 'not hide', Lucy exited the room and decided to partake in a little poker play until her guests arrived. Approaching the table that currently held four other players, she threw a wad of bills that were housed in a diamond studded money clip onto the table, and took a seat. The "bank" slid the money off the table, did a quick count, and in return pushed an array of colored poker chips in Lucy's direction as she patiently waited for her hand to be dealt.

"Lucy Diamond." Lucy heard her name called in a thick Russian accent. She looked across the table at the woman who had spoken it, and immediately recognized the speaker from many years ago.

"Ah... Ninotchka, right?" Lucy gave the girl an inquisitive look.

"Da…I hear rumor you were back in town." She responded with a grin that Lucy thought was laced with a little too much amusement, and something else that she would rather not identify.

"Well I'm glad I can put the rumor to rest for you." Lucy picked up a stack of chips in one hand, slowly dropping them one by one, to reform the stack.

"Vell hopefully I see more of you, nyet?"

Lucy thought back to the first time she had seen Ninotchka, which unfortunately for her was not the last. It was a few years before she'd left for Tokyo, she and Riley had just started officially and 'secretly' dating. Scud had told her that their Russian contact, Aleksandr Smirnov, was flying in to meet with her dad about a big gun shipment that his family needed. When he arrived, everyone was surprised that he had also brought his associate, Ninotchka Kaprova, with him. The even more surprising news was that she was an assassin. Of course, that didn't sit well with the Reynolds' organization, and she wasn't allowed anywhere near Lorenzo while negotiations were underway.

Being a typical teen, Lucy's curiosity about anything off limits led her to seek out the assassin, which in turn led to the assassin's curiosity in Lucy. After a brief attempt at conversation, which Lucy decided was going no where; especially in a language she didn't understand, she tried to excuse herself. Despite the language barrier, the assassin had started to hit on her in a more universally recognized way that Lucy clearly understood. Realizing that she probably should have followed her father's instructions to steer clear of the Russian, Lucy did her best to extricate herself from the situation. After several failed attempts at subtlety, and several hints that maybe she was a bit...young for the assassin, had fallen on deaf ears, she was finally able to get free when she simply told the other girl that she was already involved with someone.

The second meeting had been after Lucy was living in Tokyo for about three years. Her father had contacted her to let her know that Aleksandr would be in the area looking to do some business dealings, and that he would be bringing Ninotchka with him. Deciding that being alone with the Russian and his associate would probably not be wise, Lucy had decided upon a more 'trendy, yet discreet' place to meet. Unfortunately for her though, Aleksandr wasn't able to show up for the meeting, instead leaving her and Ninotchka alone. After negotiations were finished, Ninotchka once again made a play for Lucy, and this time Lucy knew she couldn't use her age, or relationship status, as an excuse. Luckily, and this was the only time Lucy thought anything such as luck could be said for a police raid, Japanese cops raided the restaurant. Apparently they'd gotten word that Yakuzas would be in the area and decided to pay a little visit, giving Lucy a chance to make a beeline for a back exit, and leaving Ninotchka to her own escape.

Lucy was brought out of her thoughts by the dealer asking her for her buy-in amount. After sliding the required amount of chips into the pot, the dealer began to deal the cards. Looking down at her two hold cards, Lucy inwardly sighed at the 9-2 off suit she had. She could try to bluff with this shit, but the fact that one of the players had just raised the pot before the flop was even shown, she thought better of it and mucked her cards in when it got around to her.

"Not likely," Lucy finally answered, as she shook her head. "I have a lot to take care of, being gone for so long. I won't really have time to date much."

"Dat is too bad. Ve vould have fun, maybe just drinks, da?"

"Um, I'm gonna be really _really_ busy." Noticing that the dealer was ready to deal the next hand, Lucy anted up. Noticing one of the tuner girls walking by, Lucy signaled her to come over. "Do you think you could do me a little favor and bring me a drink?" The girl immediately nodded, and sent Lucy a smile that made it clear she would be willing to get the crime boss _anything_ she wanted. "Would you like a drink?" Lucy's question was addressed to the Russian.

"Vodka." She simply stated.

"O-ok...I'll take a Corona with a lime wedged in the bottle and um, vodka, for my friend." She said, giving the girl a flirtatious smile, which the girl returned with a sultry smile of her own and turned to fulfill Lucy's request.

The exchange between Lucy and the waitress did not go unnoticed by Ninotchka. Narrowing her eyes slightly in irritation, she took a long drag on her cigarette and then expelled the smoke in one long huff. "Da, I see. Very busy."

Hearing the icy edge to the Russian's voice, Lucy glanced up from her cards and looked across the table.

_Well, shit._ The last thing she had wanted to do was piss off a woman that was skilled in the art of killing. On the other hand, she also didn't want to date one either. Deciding it was better to piss her off a little by rejecting her, rather then piss her off a lot by leading her on, Lucy sent her a brief, apologetic smile. "Hazard of the job. You know how it is."

When her attempt at lightening the mood was met with continued silence, Lucy sighed to herself. She glanced down at her new hole cards and shook her head. This was just not turning out to be her day.

* * *

In the security area, even though she was a mere few feet away, Scud still felt it necessary to have one of the security monitors focused on Lucy's location, '_just in case_'. Criminals could never be trusted, **especially** in a card game. Criminals playing poker was more than likely going to end badly, they always thought the others were cheating, particularly when they were losing.

Seeing that things were going well with the game, Scud decided to do another perimeter check on the hangar. He ordered that all areas be scanned, and that all ground guards do another round of foot patrol. Dom merely shook her head at her uptight brother, even when they were supposed to be out enjoying themselves Scud was always still strictly business.

"You _really_ need to loosen up Scud; you're starting to make me look bad ya know?" Dom told her brother as she handed him a drink and watched him effortlessly give orders to the men.

"What is this?" He asked as he took the glass.

"Oh it's some of that non-alcoholic shit you like to drink, to pretend you're drinking."

"And what do you mean I'm making you look bad?"

"Well you're always looking at a computer monitor, or setting up meetings, honestly when was the last time you had a woman?" She asked, rhetorically of course, she really wasn't interested in her brother's sex life, just the lack thereof.

Scud seemed to consider her question for a moment as he downed the drink offered to him. _That has to be strongest non-alcoholic drink I've ever had, _he thought to himself, as he felt the slow burn creeping down his throat. Dom looked at him with a smile; she figured it wasn't a good sign if he actually had to think about when the last time he got laid was. "Really, that's none of your business…" he replied a bit defensively, Dom noticed, "plus, I'm doing my job."

"Well doing your job doesn't mean you have to let it consume you. We have beautiful girls around us constantly, and I know they throw themselves at you, what's the deal big bro? Are you batting for the same team?" She asked amused.

Scud looked at her incredulously, which caused Dominique to back pedal. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, obviously," she said in a deliberate tone, indicating her own sexual preference. "But if you are, just say so, no one will give a damn. I'm sure we could find some tuner guys to put on display for you." She said giving him a little wink.

"Dom, I'm not gay." Scud told her pointedly.

"Ok then…why don't you even _try_ to get with any of the girls then?"

"Sometimes quality outweighs quantity Dom," he told her with a sigh. "Besides, every girl I've shown a little interest in, you seem to end up with."

"What? Who?" She asked defiantly.

"Oh please, you remember that girl back in the day…what was her name?" Scud thought for a moment. "Candy."

Dom also seemed to be lost in thought at the mention of the girl's name. "Oh, her!" She exclaimed. "Are you kidding me? That's what you call quality?" Dom scoffed.

"Ok. Well what about Cherry?"

She seemed to once again get lost in thought, trying to remember. "Ha!" She all but laughed out as she remembered. "Trust me bro, I wasn't the only one who 'popped" that one." Scud only gave her an offended look. "Oh c'mon," Dominique exclaimed. "I did you a favor, with both of those girls; they certainly _were not_ of any quality."

"Well I guess you would know."

"I would. And you should know that anytime you 'date' a girl with a name that belongs in a food group, she's definitely not worth it." Scud only shook his head at his wayward sister, and turned back to look at the security monitors.

Dom stood, walked toward him, and took a look at the monitors. "You see," Dom said, motioning toward the screen. "Take Lucy for example." Scud looked at the monitor that displayed the view of their leader. There was Lucy, sitting at the table with a tuner girl in her lap, another one hanging over the back of her chair, and yet another handing her a drink. "She clearly knows how to have a good time." Even though her chip stack was reduced, she clearly didn't see any reason to let that spoil her fun; she knew that she would have a chance to make a lot more on the race she was awaiting.

"Right." Scud said as he focused on a different view, one of the bubblegum pink Viper, the one Max had won in last week, pulling to a stop outside. _Finally, we can get this over with,_ he said to himself. "Well I would hate to interrupt her…good time, but could you please let her know her guests have arrived." Dominique looked past him at the monitor and nodded; she turned and headed towards the door to the lounge. As she walked past the poker game, she caught Lucy's eye, and with a little nod she let her know that Amy and Max had arrived.

Dom stepped into the hanger area and looked around, taking in the throng of people that were crowding the space. The sound of the on site DJ made it almost impossible to hold a conversation, but then again these people weren't exactly here to talk. Moving through the crowd, she caught the eye of a few girls, and made a mental note to swing back around later and try to make some new friends. Just because Scud was all work and no play, didn't mean that she was. As she neared the center of the room, she looked over to the area that was roped off and reserved for the people that had a large stake in the race. She had to admit she was a bit disappointed that they had only one taker, but was hoping that word would spread soon enough.

Dom noticed that their competition for this week's race had already arrived, and was in the seating area. The brunette was slim, but the red leather halter top she wore revealed that she was also leanly muscled. Matching red leather pants outlined equally well shaped legs and a perfect ass. Dom sighed to herself as she realized that was one girl she would never get to take for a test drive. She let her eyes rake over Riley one last time, and admitted that when it came to women, Lucy had damn good taste. When she saw Riley catch her eye, she quickly looked away and continued to the door of the hangar.

Stepping out into the late-afternoon sun, Dom squinted at the glare before pulling on her sunglasses. She really did prefer night races. Unfortunately, she figured that with the amount of money being placed on each race, the gamblers would want to be able to actually see the race. While night racing was definitely more difficult and taxing for the drivers, it didn't always lend itself to ease of viewing. Catching sight of Max and Amy, she raised her right arm and gave them a little wave to get their attention. Seeing that they had spotted her she, decided to stay put and let them come to her.

"Hey," Max said by way of greeting. Dom gave her a slight nod in return. Turning back towards the hangar she started to walk back through the room.

"Follow me, Lucy has something she needs to talk to you about."

Amy and Max looked at each other, silently asking the other what she thought that Lucy could possible have to talk to them about. Matching shrugs revealed that neither one of them had a clue. Amy started to absently gnaw on her lip before catching herself and consciously stopping the nervous habit. After last week, she knew that she needed to stay focused, not let herself get distracted, or let her guard down around Lucy. The first step to that was making sure she was aware, and fully in control of all her actions. Moving quickly through the crowd, they came to a halt when Dom stopped in front of a door and entered an access code on a security keypad. After the light flashed green to indicate a valid code, Dom turned the handle and they stepped inside.

* * *

"This is a pretty nice setup you have here Lucy. How often do you these types of races taking place?" A gentleman with a receding hairline asked Lucy as he tried to pull one of the tuner girls his way; she merely dodged his grasp and walked toward the door.

"As long as we have high rollers willing to put down the cash and vouch for their drivers, these races will take place Roland."

"Yes, but five mill for one race?" He tried to reason.

"If you want to win big you have to be willing to lose big. It surprises me that a man of your caliber didn't buy-in for this race, especially after hearing you boast about the stature of your drivers here at the table. Which by the way, I personally know my girls have kicked their asses on more than one occasion. So I guess I can see why you declined," she goaded.

The man looked around the table upon hearing the snickering from the other players, and immediately turned two shades of red. However, before he could respond, as if on cue, she saw Dom walking her way with Amy and Max in tow.

Upon stepping into the room, despite her best efforts, Amy felt her eyes drawn immediately to Lucy and couldn't help the smile that slowly started to spread across her face. Until of course, she took in the whole scene and her expression quickly changed to a frown. There, in Lucy's lap, was a girl who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the position she was in, and draped across the back of the chair was another girl who looked quite content with her arms thrown across Lucy's neck and hovering dangerously close to her ear.

Lucy immediately dismissed the girl that had occupied the position in her lap with a little swat on the thigh, and quickly disentangle herself from the girl that was draped over her chair. Quickly finishing off her beer, Lucy excused herself from the table as she cashed in her chips. In doing so, Amy noticed Lucy's gaze moving over her appreciatively from head to toe, and instantly the tinge of jealously was replaced with a mental pat on the back that all of her time spent deciding on an outfit, hadn't been a waste. Amy was glad that all of her mental preparations during the past week had paid off when she was able to stop herself from blushing during Lucy's perusal. Instead, she met Lucy's gaze squarely and gave her a smirk, letting the brunette know that she had noticed her checking her out.

Lucy smiled and placed her cash back in the money clip, a few thousand dollars shorter, and entered the security area with Dom and the two D.E.B.S. behind her. "Glad you could make it," Lucy fairly purred, keeping her eyes locked onto Amy's the entire time. "In fact you showed up just in time. I need a little favor."

"Favor?" Lucy diverted her gaze to Max when she voiced the question, her tone clearly indicating her skepticism. "And just what is it that we can do for you?"

Catching Amy's gaze once again, Lucy let a slow smile spread across her features. "Oh, there are plenty of things that you can do for me." Turning her attention back to Max, Lucy finished. "But the favor I need from you is that I find myself in a bit of an awkward situation. I have just bet a rather hefty sum on a race, and I find myself minutes from the start with no driver."

"Well that seems like quite the oversight." Max retorted. "But what does that have to do with me? Surely the head of a…racing organization has access to all the drivers she could possibly want."

"Well, I do of course, but most of my racers have been put on security detail and the others are out doing a little job for me.

_Out doing something illegal, _Max thought. "Well why can't you or Dom do this?"

"That's not gonna happen," Scud chimed in from behind them, causing both, Lucy and Dom, to turn their heads in his direction and roll their eyes.

"Right," Lucy said turning back around to face Max. "Not that we don't want to, but certain things prevent Dom and me from partaking in the races. However, I have been impressed with your driving lately, especially against this particular driver. And while I like a good gamble as much as the next person, I also like to win, and I'm almost positive that you will be a sure thing. Plus after your recent performances, I think you deserve a little reward."

"A reward?" Max said, raising one eyebrow in question. "And just how is spending my night off, doing you a favor, a reward for me?"

"Well first of all you get to drive a Ford GT Tungsten. 550 horsepower, top end of 205, and 0-60 in just under 3.5 seconds. Think of it kinda like your Shelby on steroids."

"And second of all?" Max replied, trying to play it cool.

"One percent of the win."

"Oh wow, that's just so tempting." Max rolled her eyes in disbelief at such a low ball offer.

"How much is the bet?" Amy inquired, sensing that there had to be more to this offer then meets the eye, and figuring that Lucy was just trying to be coy.

"The bet is 5 million...each." Lucy smirked slightly when she heard a rather strangled chocking noise come from Max. "Unfortunately we weren't able to drum up as much interest in this first race as we were hoping, so there is only one other entrant. But still, its not a bad take for a few minutes work." Lucy crossed her arms over her chest and rocked back on her heels slightly, confident that they would jump at the offer presented.

"Two percent and you have yourself a deal."

"What?" Lucy and Max asked simultaneously. Lucy squinted her eyes slightly, as she appeared to give the counter offer some consideration. In reality, the money meant nothing to her. She already had more than she would ever be able to spend. But just because one had it, didn't mean that they needed to throw it away needlessly. After a few moments, she decided that she was a bit impressed by Amy's demand, instead of annoyed.

"Deal." Turning to Max she dug into her pants pocket and pulled out the key to the Tungsten. Tossing it to Max, she turned her head slightly and asked Scud, "How long until the race is scheduled to start?"

"Ten minutes."

"Well then I guess we better get Max to her car then." Walking briskly towards the far end of the room, she approached a door. "The car is parked right out back. You'll have a few minutes to get situated and then its race time."

"Gee, don't give me too much time or I might get bored just waiting around." Max bit off sharply. "Just who is this other driver anway?" Max quickly followed behind Lucy, Amy trailing slightly, and stepped out of the door to the area behind the hanger. There gleaming in the sun was the Ford GT. Max ran her eyes approvingly over the lines of the car while waiting for Lucy's reply. Incidentally, the car had the same paint scheme as Max's Shelby. Lucy conveniently left off the fact that the car had been painted that color in the past week specifically for this race. She sent a silent thank you to Dom for suggesting the new paint when she saw the undisguised interest flare in Max's gaze. She might try to play it cool, but Lucy could tell she couldn't wait to get behind the wheel.

"Someone you know quite well as a matter of fact. You have kicked his ass in your last two races."

"Bobby?" Max clarified. Lucy only nodded in response. "Since I have managed to beat his sorry ass two times in a row, who would be silly enough to back him?" Max conveniently left off just how close each of those races had really been.

"Riley Schaffer. She has apparently been impressed enough with his performance to back him in this race. And to be fair, it's not like they knew you would be racing for me." Smiling slightly she met Max's eyes. "Yet another reason I wanted to have you do this little favor for me. I think seeing you will surprise him and give you just a bit more of an edge."

"Oh I'm sure he'll be surprised alright." Max muttered almost inaudibly. She darted a glance at Amy to see how she was processing this new information, judging by the thoughtful look on her face, she was definitely surprised by the news as well.

While the D.E.B.S number one priority was to take down the Reynolds' Syndicate, the Schaffer's ran a very close second when it came to the size and scope of their operation. Max had often wondered why the D.E.B.S had never made a move on the Schaffer's in all those years they kept trying, and failing, to gain a foot hold with the Reynolds'. Regardless, the fact that the second player at this race was none other than Riley Schaffer, Lucy's biggest rival, was not small news. The fact that Bobby had somehow managed to gain entry to the Schaffer organization was also interesting.

"Well I only have a few minutes to get the feel of this beauty, so I will see you guys after the race," Max said, while slipping into the drivers seat and closing the door firmly behind her. Within seconds the cars' powerful engine roared to life, and Max wasted no time in punching the car into gear and taking off.

Amy watched her go and shook her head fondly. "Max does love her cars," Amy then turned to look at Lucy. "If you wanted her to agree, all you had to do was take her out here and show her what she'd be driving. You could have saved yourself some time, not to mention money."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Lucy turned back to the door and extended her arm forward, indicating that Amy should precede her. When Amy turned and stepped toward the door, Lucy moved in beside her, but only after taking in an eyeful of Amy's backside, snugly encased in the leather skirt. With a huge grin in place that could only mirror the size and brightness of the sun, Lucy placed her hand on the small of Amy's back, Lucy guided her through the door.

Walking into the security area of the hanger, Lucy saw Scud still tethered to his computer. "Dom already out there?" Scud looked up from his monitor and met Lucy's gaze. Frowning slightly when he saw the arm she had wrapped around Amy, he downed another glass of the _non-alcoholic drink_ that Dominique had given him and finally nodded. Lucy made a note to talk to Scud later about proper manners. While she knew he was not in favor of her pursuing Amy, he needed to learn to hide that fact a bit better.

"Come on." Applying slight pressure on Amy's back, Lucy urged her forward. "We want to make sure we get settled before the race starts. It wouldn't look good to have the only other sponsor not show up to watch the race." Stepping through the door they were immediately assaulted by the noise and stares of the people in the room. Of course, Amy knew it was because they were all watching Lucy, but the grin plastered on Lucy's face said otherwise; she knew it was because of the incredibly hot, leather clad blonde she had on her arm.

Weaving through the traffic of people, they finally managed to make it to the spot reserved for Lucy that was in front of the jumbo-tron in center of the room. Picking up two glasses of champagne from the tray that a tuner girl was balancing as she walked past, Lucy handed one to Amy and motioned for her to take a seat. Amy daintily took her seat, being careful not to expose too much in doing so.

Keeping her eyes trained on the girl, Lucy was rewarded with the sight of Amy's leg swinging to cross the other. Lucy smiled and thanked the gods that the blonde had chosen to wear a skirt, and therefore she was able to get a clear view of her thighs since the garment had ridden up a bit. As she felt her grin get just a bit wider she took the seat next to her and waited for the race to begin.

"So how long have you and Max been racing together?" Lucy asked as she took a sip of her champagne and leisurely threw her left arm over the back of the couch. Since the couch was on the small side this effectively put Amy within her grasp. She let her fingers dangle down and just barely graze the bared skin of the blonde's shoulder.

Taking a sip of her own champagne, Amy took her time in answering. "Well, Max and I have known each other forever, and I can't actually pinpoint when we first started, but maybe around four or five years ago."

"Ah," Lucy said nodding her head slightly, "so not for very long then."

"Really? How long have you been racing?"

"Hmm…Probably since I started driving, which was around 13, so I'll say around 12 or 13 years."

"Wow, you started driving really young then."

"Yes well, in this family, you learn to do a lot really young." Lucy answered absently. She let her fingertips trace idle circles on Amy's shoulder as she looked past her, lost in thought. Ever since she was a little girl she had been expected to excel. With no other children, Lorenzo has placed all of his hopes and aspirations for the family dynasty on her shoulders. For the most part she had been able to please her father, and in fact took great joy in doing so. Every time he would praise her for a job well done, she would swell with pride, and she always vowed to do what ever it took to always attain that feeling.

"Dom and I actually started Pink Thunder back then, but of course it was just us, Scud was never much of a driver. We would get some of the staff kids to race against us. My parents never approved though because we were always wrecking the cars and ending up with the occasional brace or cast." Amy noticed how Lucy shifted her eyes downward when she spoke about her parents. "But we got better, and so did the other kids, and that's when we decided to start a gang." Lucy took another sip of her champagne. "All girls of course, the boys thought they were better and wanted to do all the driving, so we kicked their asses out."

Amy couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Lucy at the age of 13 heading a gang and bossing the other kids around. "So you started being a bully at a young age as well?"

"Hey! I was not a bully." Lucy said with a faux pout in place. "Do you think I'm a bully?" While said in a joking manner, Lucy was curious if that was how the blonde saw her. Not that she could blame her really, if she did. Amy knew that she was head of a crime organization, which is why she was here. That thought caused Lucy's brow to furrow a bit.

"No." Amy said softly, seeing the brief flash of doubt that crossed Lucy's features. Reaching up, she smoothed the slight frown line that had appeared between Lucy's brows. As her fingertip lightly caressed over the crease she noticed Lucy's frown morphed into a small smile.

Lucy reached up and grabbed Amy's hand, sliding closer to her on the sofa until their sides were pressed together, and gently kissed the back of it, never breaking eye contact. Lucy leaned in, her intentions clear, and was happy to note that Amy was leaning in to meet her advance, everything around them seemed to quiet down and move in slow motion. That was until the moment was abruptly interrupted as a shadow was cast over them, and then suddenly everything picked up speed once again and the loud noises seemed so very clear as they heard someone clear their throat.

"Hello Lucy," came the sultry tone of a voice that she knew all to well. Even after her seven year absence, she knew she would never be able to get that voice out of her head. Looking up, Lucy's eyes slowly travelled up the red leather clad legs, to hips that currently had two fine boned hands resting on them. Her eyes briefly rested on the toned bare midriff that was showing as the red leather halter top rose slightly, mocking her.

Lucy's eyes shot up to the face that she had been _not hiding_ from all night, and now here she was, right in front of her, and if only to herself Lucy, had to admit, _looking damn good. _"Riley," Lucy replied curtly with a little nod, "good to see you again."

Amy silently watched the exchange between the two, feeling the tension that was there. She knew that Riley was head of the Schaffer's organization, and that over the years the Schaffers' had vied for the number one spot against the Reynolds, but all of her years of training told her that this was something different. It could've been the way Lucy instantly dropped her hand, and put some distance between them, when the girl appeared, or the fact that the two couldn't stop starting at each other. Either way, she didn't like it. She frowned slightly and cleared her throat interrupting the little silent exchange going on in front of her.

"The race is about to start." Amy said pointedly.

Breaking the stare, Lucy looked to Amy. Taking in the blonde's slightly annoyed expression, crossed arms, and closed off body language, she decided it was time to say adieu. Recovering slightly from her surprise at seeing Riley in person after all these years, she turned once more to address the brunette. "You're blocking our view."

Riley chuckled slightly, and shifted her hips making Lucy's eyes dart immediately to them. "Well I'll let you get back to," she paused and let her eyes rake over Amy dismissively, "things." Turning to meet Lucy's gaze once again, she smiled seductively. "May the best driver win."

"Oh…she will." Amy replied when Lucy seemed to have been struck mute. Lucy cursed internally; Riley had caught her off guard and she hated having that _deer in the headlights_ look. Riley sashayed away, purposely adding a little more sway to hips as she did. Lucy couldn't help watching as she walked away. After a few moments she felt Amy's gaze boring into her, and she turned her eyes to the jumbo-tron as it sprang to life.

"Ah, here we go." She motioned to the monitor, relieved at the interruption. She stole a brief glance at Amy, and gulped down the last bit of her champagne, when she noticed the other girl's decidedly icy disposition. _Smooth move, Diamond. As well as that went, you might as well take dating advice from Scud. _Looking around she wondered where Dom had gotten herself off to. Now there was someone that could juggle two, three, sometimes even four different women without breaking a sweat.

Her question was answered when a very familiar voice was heard over the PA system. "Sit tight everyone, the race is going to start in one minute. The rules are simple. First one to cross the finish line wins, any and all tactics on the course are allowed. Winner takes all." The audio system clicked off and all eyes in the room went to the large monitors that dominated the center of the hangar. In deference to the race, the DJ scaled back the volume on his music to a less deafening level.

Lucy turned to face her still silent companion. "So, this should be good, huh?" She rolled her eyes slightly at the awkward statement. Something about this girl threw her off her stride. She grimaced a little when she realized that the only other person that had ever had that effect on her was sitting a few, short feet away. Her grimace became a little more pronounced when the little voice in her head kept nagging at her, telling her that Amy was a D.E.B. and that it was stupid to even allow her to have _any_ effect on her at all.

Shaking her head to dispel those thoughts she focused once more on the said D.E.B. This task was going to prove even harder than she thought, considering Riley had just taken a seat that was clearly visible over Amy's left shoulder. So when Lucy looked at Amy, Riley was sure to be in her sights as well. Great, this is just what she needed.

"Yeah." Amy's voice was clipped, and she didn't elaborate on her answer. Peeking out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lucy run her hand through her hair in mild frustration. She knew that part of her was being completely irrational. She certainly had no claim on Lucy Diamond. The other part of her was bothered by the interest the brunette had shown in Riley Schaffer because she couldn't help but think that there was more than just a professional rivalry there.

Deciding that if she let her petty personal problems get in the way of the success of the mission, Max would likely kick her ass, she decided to tamp down her jealousy and play the role she was supposed to.

Reaching out and grabbing Lucy's hand she held it between both of hers, and rubbed it softly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, but I just got a little annoyed at the interruption. I know it wasn't your fault." _Even if you did practically drooled over her like a lovesick puppy. _Though Amy admitted, grudgingly to herself, that the other girl _had_ looked good.

Lucy grinned, relieved that Amy seemed willing to move past the incident with Riley, "Ancient history." Even though Amy took that as an admission that there _had _been something there, it was quickly dismissed as she felt Lucy entwining her hand with her own and bringing it up to her lips. Lucy placed a quick kiss on the back of her knuckles, before bringing it to rest on her thigh. "I have far more important things to keep me occupied," she said, giving Amy her most charming smile.

Amy met Lucy's direct gaze without flinching, vowing that she would hold her own with the charming crime boss if it was the last thing she did. "Indeed. The future is so much more interesting than rehashing what's already happened." Sending Lucy a charming smile of her own, she took a quick sip of champagne, to wet her suddenly dry throat. Flirting with Lucy was proving to be a little bit more difficult, although exhilarating, then she had expected.

The automated countdown, signaling the start of the race, provided a fortuitous distraction, one that Amy latched onto gratefully. "Looks like the race is about to start." Amy winced a bit to herself at the patently obvious statement.

Chuckling slightly, Lucy settled back into the comfortable sofa, drawing the blonde agent a little bit closer. "Looks that way. Let's hope your girl pulls through with a win."

"Oh, she'll win. Max always does, I don't think she knows how to lose. What ever she sets her sights on attaining, she usually does." Amy spoke absently, not noticing the slight frown that marred Lucy's visage. While Lucy was thrilled that Max's single minded focus would surely result in an easy five million dollars, she was less ecstatic about having such a dedicated law enforcement officer gunning for her. Deciding to worry about that later, she focused on the view screen.

The airstrip had two runways that were set at a 45 degree angle to each other. Starting in front of the hangar, the race route took the drivers to the end of the first runway, had them perform a sharp U-turn and return towards the hanger, they would then drive to the far end of the second runway, perform a final u-turn, and finish the race back where they had started. Cameras had been set up all along the route to monitor the race progress and allow for the best viewing angles. Scud was handling the data and switching to the appropriate cameras from the security room.

As soon as the start light went to green, both cars shot off the start line. Bobby was driving a flame orange Porche Carrera GT, which had a slight advantage over the Ford at the start, due to its larger V-10 engine block. As a result Max was slightly behind as the two cars raced down the first runway. Amy clenched her hand slightly, she wasn't really nervous that Max would lose, but found just sitting and watching was more nerve wracking then actually being in the car. She felt Lucy squeeze her hand reassuringly in response.

Both girls kept their eyes glued to the screen as the two cars approached the first turn. Over the long length of the runway Max had managed to gain back the distance she had lost at the start. Since the race was such a straight, flat run it was likely to be won or lost in how the drivers handled the corners. Pulling even with Bobby right before the turn, she had the inside track on the corner, and appeared determined to keep it that way. Amy watched as Bobby slowed slightly, readying himself for the upcoming U-turn. Max seemed oblivious, and continued to push the car just a little bit faster. Entering the turn, at what appeared to be an impossibly fast speed, she down-shifted hard and sent the car sliding through the turn.

As soon as the car swung around and was pointing back towards the hangar, the car was ruthlessly pushed to accelerate down the straight away. Lucy winced slightly as she heard, over the camera mounted mics placed on the course, the distressed whine of the muscle car's V-8 engine. Noticing the wince, it was Amy's turn to squeeze Lucy's hand.

"She can sometimes be a bit rough on her toys."

"Now you tell me." Lucy looked a bit perturbed at the treatment of her car.

"Don't worry, what ever she breaks, she can fix."

Though Bobby had lost a bit of ground in the corner, he was able to make some of it back on the return trip. As they two cars approached the more gentle turn that would take them to the second runway, he was running a little less than a car length behind. Since he was on the inside track going into the corner he would either have to give way to Max, or run the risk of a possible collision. As the two cars drew nearer to the corner it became clear to Lucy which option he had chosen.

"Son of a bitch." Lucy raised a little in her seat as her eyes stayed glued to the screen. "If he puts a scratch on that car I will kick his ass." Hearing the threat Amy swung her eyes from the screen, to Lucy, and then back.

"You don't think he would..." Amy asked uncertain.

"Oh I'm certain that he would." As if to lend validity to her supposition, on screen, the two cars finally entered the turn. Amy watched in slight disbelief as Bobby entered the turn on the inside, still slightly more than a car length behind. While the curve was gentle enough to allow both cars to pass without incident, Bobby clearly had other ideas. Just as the cars were about to pull out of the corner, the orange Porsche jerked to the right, impacting the right rear quarter panel of the Tungsten.

As a loud roar emitted from the area that the Schaffer's were occupying, Lucy took a glance back and saw some of the goons high-fiving each other at the harsh move Bobby had chosen to make. Catching Riley's eyes, Lucy saw a satisfied smirk on her face as she gave her a little wink. Noticing that Lucy's gazed lingered a little longer than she liked, Amy tugged slightly on Lucy hand, trying to regain her attention, so that she would focus back on the race, and her.

Rolling her eyes slightly at Lucy for once again turning her attention elsewhere, Amy decided it best to put her focus back on the race. She watched as Max did her best to keep the big car from spinning out of control after the impact. She knew that as a federal agent, Bobby had been trained in offensive and defensive driving, and therefore knew how to cause cars to spin out. Either his skills were rusty, or Max was just that much better, because after a bit of a sideways slide she was able to wrestle the car back into a straight path. While she had avoided a full spin out, she had still lost a few hundred feet because of the wreck. "Oh she is gonna be so pissed."

"She's gonna be pissed? That's my damn car that just got beat to hell." Lucy stated grumpily.

"Don't worry. Max might be a magician under the hood. But when it comes to body work, I'm your girl." Lucy raised her eyebrow slightly at Amy's unintentionally suggestive remark.

"Are you now? Good to know because I'm sure my body is going to need some work." Lucy replied, a slight smile gracing her lips. Amy did her best not to flush when she realized the double entendre. Deciding to shut up while she wasn't that far behind Amy focused her attention back on the race.

By this point the cars were approaching the mid-way point of the second runway, Max still trailing by a few car lengths. Lucy watched as the silver car slowly gained the ground it had lost, as the two drivers raced toward the final turn. Max had positioned her car to gain the inside track on the corner, putting her in the position that she would need if she hoped to pull ahead and win the race.

"So what do you think her strategy is going to be?" Lucy was curious as to how the D.E.B would handle being behind. In previous races she had reviewed the agent had almost always held the lead for most, if not all, of the race. Since the rest of the race would be a flat out sprint to the finish, if she didn't navigate the final corner correctly she wouldn't stand a chance of winning.

"Um, knowing Max? You're probably not going to be happy with the answer." Amy responded a bit hesitantly, not sure how Lucy was going to handle the news after the way she had reacted to the earlier accident.

"Why? Don't you think she can still win this? She isn't that far behind." Lucy was a little surprised at Amy's apparently lack of faith in her partner, especially considering her impressive win history.

"Oh, she'll win. I'm just not sure you're going to be happy with how she goes about doing it. I'm not sure if you've noticed but Max can sometimes be a bit...volatile." A quick look at Lucy's expression revealed that this news was not shocking to her. "When Bobby bumped her coming out of that last turn, it surely pissed her off, and since the car will already need work, she's more than likely not going to be too gentle in the final turn."

"Not gentle, how exactly?" Lucy asked, drawing the question out slowly.

Gesturing back towards the screen, Amy simple replied, "Watch."

As the cars came into the final turn, it was clear to Lucy that they were approaching with just a little too much speed. Max had managed to hold her inside line and was now almost even with Bobby as they went into the turn. Bobby apparently, didn't want a repeat of the first corner, so he was trying to stay even with Max, figuring if she could navigate the corner at these speeds, then so could he. What he clearly didn't bank on, was that Max had changed her strategy.

Instead of sending the car into a last minute slide, she accelerated past the point where she should have started to down-shift. She continued on, Bobby right by her side. As the two cars approached the apex of the turn, Max finally turned into the curve. Her change in strategy became clear; instead of breaking and drifting through the turn, she opted to retain a little more momentum and use Bobby's car as an unwilling bumper.

Sine she had the inside track, when the cars impacted she was bounced a bit towards the inside of the track. Bobby on the other hand, found himself being pushed into a spin, while Max's car impacted his front quarter panel. Clearly someone had been paying attention in offensive driving class.

Now it was time for the Reynolds' clan to give uproar at the move that Max had just made. Lucy smiled as she heard her people giving appraising comments about what just happened. She couldn't help but be impressed herself by the move even though her car was taking quite a beating. She once again looked over to Riley, with a grin in place she gave a little wink of her own. Seeing Riley roll her eyes, she couldn't help but laugh and then turned her attention back to the monitor.

Even though she had effectively taken Bobby out of the race, Max continued to push the car to the limit. Lucy leaned back into the couch, having unconsciously dropped Amy's hand with both hands braced on her knees, when Max had approached the final turn. She rested her head on the back of the couch, and turned her head to grin happily at Amy.

"Congratulations, I knew Max could win it for you." Amy said with a satisfied grin, and then she winced slightly as she looked back to the monitor as it gave a close-up of the Tungsten. "Even if we are going to have to do a little work on that car for you."

"Oh don't worry about it, although I do hate to see fine pieces of machinery abused. But the cars not that important." Hearing the cheer that went up in the room, Lucy looked at the screen and confirmed that Max had just crossed the finish line, Bobby nowhere in the frame.

"Well, I have to go." Amy stood from the couch suddenly.

"What? Wait." Lucy jumped up and grabbed the blonde's hand. "What do you mean you have to go?" Lucy was puzzled by Amy's sudden, and hasty, need to leave. She had thought they were getting along alright since the Riley incident.

"I have to go make sure Max doesn't beat the shit out of Bobby. There is no love lost between the two of them, and after that stunt he pulled on the track she is going to be livid." Amy looked at Lucy, her regret at having to cut the evening short, obvious on her face.

"Well let me come with you. I need to go congratulate Max, and chew her out for scratching my ride." Plus this gave Lucy an excuse to keep the blonde bombshell close.

Amy looked like she was going to protest, but changed her mind and decided to smile in response. "Thanks, I'd like that. Maybe you can help me keep Max in line. Sometimes it feels like a full time job." Dropping Amy's hand, Lucy once again put her hand in the small of Amy's back. She applied slight pressure, guiding her towards the hangar doors. Feeling a hand grab her arm from behind, she spun, a gun appearing in her hand as if from nowhere. Looking over the barrel, she found herself staring into the startled eyes of Riley.

"Jesus Christ, Lucy! I was just coming to congratulate you." Dropping the gun, Lucy tucked it back into its proper place.

"Shit, Riley, I'm sorry…" Lucy heard Amy audibly scoff at her apologizing to the girl, so she decided to change her tone, "but should know better than to grab me from behind." Lucy looked briefly over Riley's shoulder, seeing a swarm of armed henchmen headed their way. She sighed to her self, _Scud and his over protective streak. _"Anyway, thanks for the congrats, but I have something to take care of, so I can't really talk now."

"Maybe some other time then." Riley found herself talking to Lucy's back, Amy had already turned away, pulling Lucy along with her. Riley narrowed her eyes slightly when she noticed that Lucy once again had her arm protectively wrapped around the blonde. "Yes, we will definitely be seeing each other. Soon." Deciding that there was little point in staying around, Riley turned, pushing past the goons that had finally arrived, and headed towards the exit. _Let Bobby find his own way back, that loser. _

Stepping out onto the tarmac, Amy immediately made a bee-line for Max. She had already gotten out of the battered Tungsten, and was fielding well wishes from the people that had watched her impressive finish. Noticing Bobby pushing his way through the crowd towards Max, Amy muttered a soft expletive. _Why could he never just leave well enough alone?_

"Come on, this is about to get ugly." Amy unconsciously grabbed Lucy's hand, and began to tow her through the crowd. When people noticed who was trailing behind the blonde, they quickly parted and gave them a clear path to the winner. As Amy and Lucy drew closer they could hear the raised voices of Max and Bobby.

"What was I thinking?" Max shouted. "You're the one that slammed into me."

"Oh come on Max that was an accident, but you deliberately smashed into me!" Bobby was right in Max's face. "You just knew you couldn't win this race unless you cheated."

"First of all, it was a no holds barred race, you moron. So even if I decided to pull out a gun and shoot your tires out, it wouldn't be cheating." Max had stepped in close to Bobby, and despite the height difference, she still managed to present a formidable figure. "Second of all, you haven't beaten me so far, so I think it's obvious who can't win without cheating." Max decided to poke him in the chest, not liking how closely he was crowding her.

"This is bullshit. How the fuck did you end up in this race anyway?" He asked as he stepped into the finger that Max still held in his chest.

Noticing that the conversation had started to turn physical, and that with Max a poke could often turn into a punch, Amy decided to intervene. Stepping between the two, she put a hand on each of their chests, and pushed them back. "Enough. The race is over and done with, let it go."

Bobby and Max looked to their left, just now noticing Amy's arrival. Taking in Amy's apparel, in frustration Bobby swiped at the hand that she still had on his chest.

Noticing the swat, Lucy narrowed her eyes dangerously, and stepped forward. Bobby was fast moving up her shit list. Stepping in close behind Amy, she wrapped her arm firmly around her waist, sending a clear message to anyone with half a brain cell. "Is there a problem here?" She asked her voice quiet, and deadly.

Bobby took in Lucy's clearly possessive stance, and the way that Amy leaned back slightly into the embrace. "You have got to be kidding me?" He shouted, incredulous. "You're with _her? _This is complete bullshit! So this is how you ended up here, you clearly have no limits on how far you are willing to go to..."

"Watch it Bobby, don't say anything you are going to regret." Max cut in coldly. The last thing she needed was a pissed off ex-boyfriend blowing their cover because his tiny ego got bruised.

"Or what, Max? You can't tell me you're okay with..." he gestured between Lucy and Amy, a disgusted look on his face. "..this."

"Bobby." Amy broke in, still trying to diffuse the situation. "Just leave it alone. This doesn't really have anything to do with you."

"Nothing to do with me? My girlfriend decides to whore herself out to get invited to a race, and that has nothing to do with me?"

After Bobby's statement several things happened at once. Upon hearing her partner being called a less than flattering name Max launched herself at Bobby. Knowing that the paperwork for explaining why Max had attacked another agent in the field with no provocation would keep them busy for weeks, Amy launched herself at Max, intent on intercepting her. Lucy, first upon hearing Bobby call Amy his girlfriend, and secondly upon hearing him call her a whore, decided to do something she had wanted to since she'd first stepped out on the runway and encountered the jerk.

"Son of a bitch!" Bobby cried, bringing his hand up to cover his now bleeding nose. "I think you broke it, you bitch!"

Max couldn't help but send a satisfied grin in Lucy's direction from the punch to Bobby's face. Albeit, she wish it had been her to give it to him, but regardless, that asshole got what he deserved and she enjoyed taking pleasure in his pain.

Shaking her still stinging fist, Lucy smiled grimly. "Good, you deserved it you ass. Get your ass off of my runway. Now!" Bobby looked like he was going to protest, but after catching a look at the reinforcements that were starting to arrive, thought better of it. Spinning away, face still dripping blood, he made his way over to the battered Porsche. Lucy watched him go with a satisfied smile. The smile slipped off her face when exactly what he had said finally penetrated.

"Your boyfriend?" She asked Amy, her tone chilly.

"No, at least not for a long time. We dated, years ago. It's been over for ages, he just has a hard time letting go." Lucy looked deep into Amy's eyes, trying to determine if the other girl was telling her the truth. It wouldn't be the first time that someone had tried to play her for a fool. Deciding that she couldn't see anything but truth in the other girl's eyes, she nodded slightly.

"Okay. If he gives you any more trouble, I want to know about it."

Smiling, Amy leaned in and placed a brief kiss on Lucy's cheek."My hero."

Lucy flushed slightly at the comment. Luckily she was saved making a response by Dom's arrival on the scene.

"Never a dull moment with you, Diamond." Taking a drag on her ever present cigarette, Dom nodded to Max. "Congratulations. That was a good race. The crowd seemed to approve, and already I'm getting offers to set up a few races." Dom tossed a brick of bills at Max. "Your cut, though after all the damage you did to the car I should have probably taken.." Dom quickly eyed the damage to the once flawless car, "quite a bit off the top."

"No worries, Dom." Lucy broke in, her spirits suddenly quite a bit higher then mere moments ago. "Amy has volunteered to do any work on my body that is needed." Seeing the amused grin that spread across Dom's face, Lucy quickly corrected, "the cars body."

"Has she now." Dom cast an appraising look at the blonde. "Well good, that's one less thing I will have to worry about. I will contact you later to arrange those repairs. But for now, I think we all need to go inside and celebrate, before we all turn into Scud. Which by the way has anyone seen him? I have a few more drinks for him to finish." Dom addressed Lucy. "We really do need to get that boy laid, he is far to focused, all work and no play make Scud a pain in my ass."

Laughing at Dom's assessment of her brother, Lucy replied. "I will make sure to get right on that."

"Oh don't worry, I'm working on that part," Dom said with a wink, one which Lucy knew held more mischief than it appeared.

Turning her attention to Amy, she offered her arm. "Shall we? I think there is a dance floor in there requiring some attention." Amy took the offered arm, and looked over at Max, silently asking if she was up for it.

"What the hell," Max assented. "I could certainly use a beer, or two. Lead on."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Walking back into the hangar with Amy on her arm, Lucy glanced over at the crowded dance floor. Since the racing was done for the evening, the DJ had turned the volume back up to an ear deafening level, and Lucy could feel the unpleasant throb of the bass vibrating through her body. She couldn't figure out what in the hell had possessed her to suggest dancing, seeing as it was one of her least favorite activities. There was the occasional 'bump and grind', that didn't require much effort or skill that she'd grown fond of and being skilled in martial arts, one would think that she would be more in control of her body and the way it moved, but actual dancing, that was a stretch. _She was a bad-ass master criminal damnit, no dancing required!_ She felt Amy tugging her along, and figured that since it was her suggestion, allowed herself to be dragged towards the dance floor. Luckily the music was fast paced, so she was hoping she could at least move quickly and closely enough to Amy, where it at least looked like she knew what she was doing. And if not, at least the blonde's close proximity would help to block her less than stellar dancing skills.

While allowing herself to be towed along behind the determined blonde, she did a quick scan of the area surrounding the dance floor and stopped dead in her tracks. Unable to react to Lucy's sudden stop, Dom crashed into her from behind. When the agent behind her was also unable to stop, Dom let out a soft grunt as she was now sandwiched between Max and Lucy. She gave a brief thought that under different circumstances, she might not mind her current position; she let a small smile escape before shaking her head and bringing her mind out of the gutter.

Max bit off a curse as she slammed into Dom, and since being at the back of the pack wasn't a position she was comfortable with or used to, she stepped around the now motionless brunette, and moved to stand beside Amy. She sent Amy a questioning look to see if her partner had any clue to the cause of the sudden pile up. When a shrug was her only answer, she immediately went into spy mode and began to scan the room, looking for possible culprits. Max noted just how many criminals were scattered about, _if only I could call in a raid_, as she continued to look around.

"Lucy what the hell…" Dom started to protest, but as she followed Lucy's visual path, she saw what had caused Lucy to come to an abrupt halt, she fell silent. There was Riley, standing near one of the doors, chatting it up with a blonde beauty that Dom figured wasn't even a day over 20. Whatever it was Riley was saying to her, the blonde seemed to be eating it right up, because she wouldn't stop laughing or grabbing at Riley. Having been in similar situations more times than she could count, and knowing that Lucy was no stranger to them either, Dom had little doubt as to what the two women were discussing.

Seeing the scowl that had formed on Lucy's face, Dom chuckled as she leaned in closer to Lucy so only she could hear her, and gave her a little shoulder bump. "Did you really think you were gonna be the one having all the fun?" She asked, trying to lighten the mood, but it proved to have the opposite effect.

Lucy looked at her and rolled her eyes. "I don't have any idea what you're talking about."

"Sure. Why don't you try telling that to someone who doesn't know any better, like perhaps the girl you have on your arm." Dom said with a little nod in Amy's direction.

Lucy turned to look at Amy, and if the slightly annoyed look on the blonde's face was anything to go by, Lucy figured she had gotten a look at what had caught her attention. "Something wrong?" Amy asked coolly. The look Amy directed over her shoulder as she asked the question confirmed Lucy's suspicion that the D.E.B had indeed noticed her continuing preoccupation with a certain brunette...a stunning, clad in red leather body-to-die for, brunette. _Focus, Diamond!_

Snapping her attention back to the bombshell that she was supposed to be concentrating on, Lucy did a another mental assessment, but this time of the body in front of her, and it was all she needed to redirect her wandering attention. She cursed herself, knowing that her inability to ignore Riley was not going unnoticed. Not only was it not going unnoticed, it was starting to interfere with her pursuit. Vowing to bar the tempting brunette from her thoughts, Lucy conjured up one of her dazzling smiles to help smooth Amy's slightly ruffled feathers before she answered.

"No, no everything's cool. Shall we?" Lucy looked expectantly at Amy. Nodding, Amy turned back around and nudged Max forward as she grabbed onto Lucy's hand. Letting out a small sigh or relief, Lucy was glad she was able to avoid a scene and allowed herself to be led once again.

Unable to resist, _what could one more quick peek hurt, _Lucy turned her head to look at Riley once more. What was supposed to be a quick glance, turned into a something longer when Lucy saw that Riley was now looking in her direction, and their gazes locked. Maintaining eye contact with Lucy, Riley pulled the girl closer, and whispered something in her ear. Apparently whatever Riley said was agreeable, Lucy narrowed her eyes as she saw the blonde nod her head vigorously.

Looking on, Dom saw more than heard Lucy's 'what the fuck'. She merely laughed at her and decided to rub it in a little more. She tugged Lucy back slightly, but not enough to stop her stride. "Whoever she is, she's kinda hot huh?"

Lucy turned slightly and held up a finger to Dom. "Don't."

Turning back around, determined this time to really ignore Riley, Lucy saw Scud heading their way. She and Dom sighed in unison and looked at each other with matching eye-rolls, knowing from the look on his face, that he'd more than likely witnessed the calamity that had taken place outside. They watched as he clumsily stumbled a bit on his way toward them. She heard Dom snicker next to her, and couldn't help the smirk that came across her face as well. Knowing that Scud wasn't prone to clumsiness, Lucy looked at his feet, but didn't see any obstruction that could've caused his unsteadiness. Brushing it off, she looked at his face and knew what was coming next.

Scud by-passed Max and Amy, and stopped next to Lucy, halting her stride. "So now you're picking fights with the drivers I see," he yelled over the music as he grabbed her right hand and examined it. "This is starting to swell, it needs to be iced," he told her pointedly as he tugged on her arm, trying to urge her forward.

"It's fine Scud, really...I don't need you hovering."

"Yeah Scud, not everyone is as sensitive as you." Dom told him as she took a peek at Lucy's hand. She'd walked up after Lucy had punched Bobby, but if his bloody nose and his reaction to it was any indication, she knew that Scud was probably right. Of course, she wasn't about to tell him that. He only narrowed his eyes in her direction for a split second and continued his assessment.

Peering over Scud's shoulder, Amy caught sight of Lucy's bruised hand. She knew it was because of her that Lucy had decided to punch Bobby. Even though she agreed that he very much deserved it, she felt guilty that Lucy had been injured as a result. "Wow, you **do **need to have that looked at."

Lucy looked at Amy and saw the concerned look that she was regarding her slightly bruised and swelling hand with. "No, it's fine…really. It's just a little swelling, it'll be fine…see," Lucy flexed her right hand a little and winced as a sharp pain shot through it. _Shit, that did kinda hurt_.

"Oh come on Diamond, suck that shit up, that punched barely grazed him." Max goaded from behind Amy, as she looked on with a smirk.

Looking over and giving Max an impervious look, Lucy scoffed, "Yeah well he's lucky a bloody nose is all he got, besides, I think you're just mad that you didn't get a crack at him," Lucy shot back.

"Is it that obvious?" Max laughed shaking her head, as she dismissed what she thought was an overindulgent show of concern for such a small injury. If you could even call it that, more of a scratch really, and continued to scope out her surroundings.

"Seriously Luce, you need to put some ice on this," Scud persisted.

"Yeah Lucy, that really doesn't look good." As government agents, getting hurt was a likely hazard of the job, so after graduating from the academy, it was mandatory for all field agents to get their E.M.T certification, just in case. Amy stepped around Scud and took Lucy's hand gently in hers and examined it. Amy couldn't help but notice how soft Lucy's hand felt in hers as she gingerly pressed around the knuckles, mainly to access the damage and to gauge Lucy's reaction. Seeing Lucy only wince slightly at the pressure, she felt better in knowing that the bruising was only just beneath the skin. However, she still knew that it was probably quite painful and that it would cause a bit more swelling if it wasn't properly attended to. She then looked up into her eyes trying to convey that she was sorry that she'd gotten hurt, "He's right, you need to get some ice on this."

Lucy tilted her head slightly as she stared into the blonde's eyes with a small smile gracing her lips as she nodded. "Ok."

Dom couldn't help but laugh at her friend's easiness where the blonde was concerned. First, she's punching out a DHS agent over her, and now she looked as though she's about to propose. However, actually falling for a D.E.B. was definitely not part of the plan, so she made a mental note to have a little chat with her about the whole purpose of this little pursuit.

Scud looked at Lucy with slight disbelief, she never agreed to medical attention this easily, and then he looked at Amy with extreme displeasure. "Thanks, but I got this," he told her brusquely as he snatched Lucy's hand from Amy's grasp, and nudged Lucy forward. Tripping slightly again, he looked down at the floor, which allowed him to miss the dirty look that Lucy was giving him. _Definitely gonna have to talk to Scud about his manners, _Lucy thought as she slapped Scud's hand away.

Amy frowned slightly as she watched Scud usher Lucy away. Since the beginning, when they were invited to the skybox, it was as if he didn't approve of her being around, and he more than showed it. And since then, whenever she was around he made no effort to talk to her or Max, he would always just sneer from afar.

From the pre-mission debrief, Amy knew that Scud's father had worked very closely with Lorenzo Reynolds, as an enforcer and his right hand man. Scud's mother had left him at a very young age, allegedly, because she didn't like the lifestyle that his father was leading. She didn't stand a chance of getting custody, so she had no choice but to leave him behind. A few years later, his father met a young Asian woman and, and nine months later Dom had arrived on the scene. Unfortunately, she was from an opposing family, and after the news of the relationship reached her father, he had her killed for disgracing the family.

Scud's father later got his revenge; with the help of his friend and boss, Lorenzo Reynolds, he was able to storm the family's compound and kill Dom's grandfather. However, in making his escape he was caught and executed, leaving Scud and Dominique fatherless. Lorenzo and his wife, Eva, decided to take in the children of their long time friend, and raise them as their own. The fact that Lucy was an only child, and Scud and Dominique were now apart of the immediate family, seemed to forge a closed bond with the three. Years later, when Lucy's mother was killed, their bond only grew stronger. While Lorenzo went into shock from grief, Scud became the protector for Lucy and Dom and the three had been inseparable since childhood.

Amy knew that if she was going to have any hope of winning Lucy over, she would have to sway Scud as well. Knowing how close the two were, the last thing she and Max needed was him negatively influencing any decisions Lucy made where she was concerned. She wasn't sure what she had done to trigger his distrust, but she would have to figure it out and fix it.

"Come on," Amy felt Dom pulling at her arm, "don't worry about Scud, he always gets pissy and goes into overprotective mode over the simplest things."

Dom moved forward behind Lucy and Scud, while Max grabbed Amy's hand before she started off. "You go ahead, I'm gonna stay out here and have a look around," she told her over the blaring music.

Amy looked at her with a grin and moved in closer so that no one would hear. "Ok, but you do know you can't arrest anyone, right?" Max pulled back and rolled her eyes before she headed off.

Amy turned and quickened her pace to catch up with the others as they entered the VIP lounge. When they arrived in the security area, Amy watched as Scud sloppily started wrapping Lucy's battered hand in an ice filled towel. Amy moved over to stand by Lucy and observe, mainly to make sure Scud was attending to her correctly. Lucy noticed that Amy had arrive and looked up at her with an apologetic smile. "I guess this puts a damper on that dance I promised, huh?" Amy smiled back at Lucy, but before she could respond Scud interrupted.

"Dance? Out there? With all those people around? Lucy, surely you know that would be very dan-," Scud stopped himself mid-sentence, not wanting to say too much in front of the D.E.B. Gathering his thoughts, he looked over to Amy. "Surely you won't have any trouble finding another dance partner," he told her as he gave her a once over. "So why don't you just mosey on out of here so I can attend to this."

"Scud!" Lucy yelled, her voiced laced with warning. She'd really had just about enough of him and his ridiculous behavior at this point, and was about to light into his ass right then and there. Luckily, Dom noticed her boss's intent and hurried to diffuse the situation. After all she did feel a little bit responsible for his current state is disarray.

She yanked Scud by the arm, whipping him around with force, and pinned him with a furious look of her own. "I think you're done here. Why don't we leave these two alone? I'm sure whatever Lucy needs Amy can _more _than handle it. Besides, I think you could use another drink."

"Heeey, but what about security," Scud protested as he was pulled away.

"They'll manage. You've trained them well." Dom made reference to the two guys that were currently seated behind the monitors keeping an eye on things.

With that said, she dragged a protesting and somewhat unsteady Scud out of the security area and into the VIP lounge. Once the door closed behind them, she shoved him in the chest. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Scud's eyes widen at the question. "What's wrong with _me_? Are you kidding? Am I the only one who is aware of or even care that this girl is…" Scud looked around and leaned in closer to Dom so only she could hear him, "a damn D.E.B?" Dom only rolled her eyes at his question and walked over to the bar. Scud threw up his hands in exasperation at Dom's retreating form, before letting them fall back to his side. He looked around and found an empty couch flopping gracelessly onto it; he let his head fall back, and closed his eyes. He was starting to feel a little dizzy and he just wanted to rest for a moment. _I hope I'm not coming down with something._

After a few moments, he felt the couch shift beside him and opened his eyes. He slowly turned his head to the left to see what had caused the disruption. It took a few moments for his vision to focus, but when it did, he saw that his eyes were glued to a well endowed chest. Blushing slightly, he shifted his eyes upward and saw a redhead holding two drinks in her hand.

Picking his head up from its resting position, he searched the room for Dom, and upon spotting her, he saw her raise her drink to him in toast and give him a little wink. Scud narrowed his eyes at her, but looked back over at the girl that was sitting next to him and holding out one of the drinks to him. Knowing that Dom was behind it, and already feeling a little out of kilter, Scud reluctantly took it, after all he was a gentleman.

"Hi, I'm Peaches," the girl said as she extended her hand to him.

"Scud," he told her, accepting her outstretched hand and shaking it briefly.

"I know who you are," the girl giggled. She leaned forward, and raked her hand through his dirty blonde hair. Scud gulped at the action and downed half of the drink the girl had given him.

Looking on, Dom smirked at her brother and then glanced over at the redhead that she had sent over to him. Initially, Dom had her eyes on the girl. Or more accurately, she had her eyes on the way she filled out the form hugging halter top she was wearing, but figured that there were plenty others for her to choose from. She gave the girl a final once over before deciding it was time she got a little action of her own.

As the drink flowed through his body, Scud's head rolled slightly as the effect of what he was drinking started to visibly take its toll. He looked back at the girl that was sitting beside him, and once again found his attention diverted to her chest. "Are those real?"

* * *

"Your friend doesn't seem to like me all that much." Amy said, looking up at Lucy briefly as she began to properly wrap her hand.

"Thanks," Lucy told her as she looked down at the towel wrapped around her hand and wiggled her fingers a bit, seeing if she could still feel them. "Scud is a bit protective at times. Beer?" Lucy offered, still fuming a bit at Scud's actions. Seeing Amy nod she walked over to the door and motioned for one of the girls and told her to bring her two beers. The girl returned after a few moments, Lucy grabbed the neck of them both with one hand and closed the door behind her, handing one of the bottles to Amy.

"That seems like an understatement." Amy said as she took a sip of her beer. **  
**  
Lucy chuckled a bit, "Well, I guess he can get a _bit_ carried away sometimes, especially when it comes to me dating or showing an interest in someone."

At Lucy's statement, Amy swallowed wrong and started coughing violently. _Dating? Was that Lucy's intention?_ Lucy quickly rushed to her side and started patting her on the back. "Are you ok?" She asked concerned.

"Yeah," Amy managed to gasp out between coughs. "I guess it just went down the wrong way." Amy blushed slightly as she composed herself. It seemed she was constantly making a fool of herself around the other girl.

"That seems to happen a lot with you," Lucy said teasingly as she smiled and went from patting Amy's back to rubbing it in small circles.

Eyeing the love-seat that was in the corner of the small room, Lucy walked Amy over to the couch and took a seat, propping her left arm against the arm rest. Amy followed, choosing to sit as close as possible to Lucy. Lucy immediately threw her right arm across the back of the seat, encircling her shoulders. Amy shifted slightly as she crossed her legs and snuggled slightly into Lucy's side.

"So a Viper huh?" Lucy said out of the blue as she took a sip of her beer.

Amy turned to look at Lucy and raised a single brow in question, wondering just where that had come from. "What?"

"Your car, it's a Viper right?"

"Yeah…what's wrong with a Viper?" Amy asked as she cocked her head to the side slightly. "Not up to your exacting automotive standards?"

"No, they're just fine. I just didn't have you pegged for that particular model."

"Oh? And what did you have me pegged for?" Amy leaned slightly away from Lucy and crossed both arms across her chest in apparent affront, deciding to have a little fun with the criminal master mind.

"Um…," Lucy hedged, sensing a trap and realizing she had talked herself into a corner. "I don't know. I just thought that since you preferred to sit in the passenger's seat you wouldn't require that much horsepower under the hood." Lucy saw the incredulous expression that crossed Amy's face at that pronouncement and immediately realized that she'd just stuck her foot in her mouth.

"Oh really? So a nice little four cylinder? Maybe one of those cute little Beetle's would be more my speed?"

"No, I didn't mean that. Shit, I don't know what I meant; this conversation definitely took a wrong turn somewhere." Lucy shook her head slightly, wondering how she got herself into this mess. Usually after a few smiles, a flirty touch or two, and about five minutes in her presence she would have girls throwing themselves at her. She was slightly disgruntled that this D.E.B was proving to be a harder challenge then she had anticipated.

"Looks like you might be in need of a good navigator." Amy finally broke a smile, letting Lucy know that she had just been tweaking her a bit.

"Looks like I might." Lucy replied, returning Amy's smile with one of her own. "Know where I could find one?"

"Possibly," Amy told her. Satisfied that she'd manage to throw Lucy off her game, if only briefly, she took up her previous position, and nestled back against her.

Lucy took a swallow of her beer as her eyes roamed appreciatively up Amy's legs. The sofa and the blonde's short miniskirt had conspired to expose a generous amount of well toned flesh. Never one to miss an opportunity when it was presented to her, Lucy let her eyes linger. "You know," Lucy forced herself to look away from the tempting, exposed flesh, and up at Amy who had turned slightly to look at her. "I haven't had a chance to tell you this all night, but you look…," Lucy looked as though she was trying to find the proper word to describe how Amy looked in the revealing outfit, several words raced through her mind, _hot, stunning, seductive..."_amazing, you look amazing." She told her, holding Amy's gaze as she absently played with the blonde locks with the exposed fingers on her wrapped hand.

"Thank you," Amy replied, flushing slightly at the compliment, as she drew in her bottom lip, and once again began to nervously gnaw on it. Lucy couldn't help but take notice of the attention that Amy had drawn to her lips and felt an overwhelming urge to lean in and kiss them. _She looks so damn cute when she does that._

Amy noticed Lucy's eyes dart to her lips and felt her shift beside her. When she saw Lucy lick her lips, she couldn't help but mirror the action.

Feeling the sweat of the beer bottle starting to dampen her hand, Lucy leaned down and set it on the floor. Reaching over, she grabbed Amy's bottle and placed it beside hers. Lucy became aware of the two guys that were still in the room when she heard one of them snicker softly. While she certainly wasn't shy, she also didn't feel like providing a cheap thrill for two of Scud's goons. "Why don't you guys can take a break from the monitoring and walk the floor for a bit." Lucy told them, never breaking eye-contact with Amy; that is, until one of them spoke.

"Um…we have orders not to leave the room and to monitor the grounds at all times," goon number one said. The man sitting next to him gave him a swat to the arm for his foolish statement. Lucy furrowed her brow as she turned to glare at the man who had questioned her order. She watched him shift uncomfortable under the intensity of her stare. "Well um…Scud said that it...it was for your protection." The man continued on, rather shakily, Lucy noted with satisfaction.

"I see," Lucy started, "and who is it that you think gives Scud his orders?" She asked, giving him a dangerous glare.

The henchman looked over at the man to his side in hope of finding some support. Instead he saw his partner shake his head and stand, pulling him up with him. "Sorry boss, we'll leave you two alone now," the second security guard told her with a quick salute as they headed for the door, he gave his partner a shove as he opened the door and forced him through.

Lucy shook her head at the two departing men. "Good help is so hard to find these days," she joked as she looked back at Amy, who seemed to be watching the exchange with amused interest. Now that they were alone at last, Lucy's mind was back on the task at hand, _kiss the girl_.

Lucy placed her uninjured hand on Amy's knee and brushed her thumb across the smooth flesh above it. Upon getting no protest, Lucy pressed forward. Feeling Amy turn more toward her and slide her hand up her arm, she turned her eyes downward where her hand was, and slowly inched her hand up over Amy's thigh and down to the side of it. She looked up when she heard a strangled gasp escape from the blonde as her lips parted. Looking into Amy's eyes, Lucy leaned in closer; ready to capture the mouth she so desperately wanted to taste.

Just as she was finally going to make contact, the door was jerked open and Scud stumbled inside, bringing the noise of the outside with him. Both girls jumped slightly at the abruptness of the intrusion and turned their attention from one another to the door. Lucy cursed his timing as she watched Scud wave his arms around in agitation. "What the hell Luce, you sent the security guys away!" His speech was slightly slurred as he shuffled over to the monitors and unnecessarily tapped on each of them.

Removing her hand from Amy's thigh and sitting back against the seat once again, causing Amy to remove the hand she had resting on her arm, Lucy sighed heavily. "Yes and that didn't mean for you to replace them." Lucy narrowed her eyes at his current state and came to the conclusion that this was some of Dom's handiwork. When she noticed his stumbling gait earlier she had passed it off as no big deal. But when combined with his uncharacteristic behavior and rapidly slurring speech, she came to the only logical conclusion. Scud was drunk off his ass, and knowing what a tight ass he could be about drinking on the job she could only conclude that Dom was somehow involved.

As if on cue, Dominique appeared in the doorway and folded her arms as she leaned against it. "Sorry Luce, but you know how this one gets", Dom said motioning her head over at Scud.

Lucy stood, annoyed at the yet another interruption, and walked over to Dom. "What the hell did you give him?"

With a smirk in place, Dom chuckled a bit, "Oh, just something to make him loosen up a bit."

"Yeah, but you know Scud can't hold his liquor for shit…I mean look at him."

Both girls turned their heads to look over at Scud, who at the moment had chosen to crawl under the table and was pulling away at the cords that ran from the security system to the monitors. He let out several curses as his head connected with the underside of the table on several occasions.

Dom only shook her head at her brother before turning back to Lucy. "Sooo…," Dom said getting Lucy's attention and looked over at the blonde, who was sitting there looking at Scud with a concerned look. Lucy rolled her eyes and let out an irritated huff in response. Knowing her friend very well, Dom took that as a sign as she hadn't even gotten to first base. Chucking slightly Dom shrugged, "Sorry."

"You should be! If you hadn't fucked with Scud's drink he wouldn't have stumbled in when I was _this_ close." Lucy grumbled, a slightly whining edge in her voice, as she held up her thumb and index finger a half inch apart to illustrate her point. "Do you have _any_ idea how longs it's been Dom? Dom only shrugged, trying to portray solace to her friend's current state of frustration with the lack of action she'd gotten in the past few months. Lucy pressed on, "Iceland was good for a lot of things but _that_ was definitely not one of them."

Dom couldn't help but chuckle at her friend's obvious irritation, knowing that she definitely couldn't relate seeing as she wasn't having any issues as far as scoring was concerned. She managed to choke back her laughter when Lucy sent her a sinister look, and tried to fix an appropriately sympathetic expression on her face. "It's just as well, there's someone out here who's asking to speak with you regarding business."

Lucy frowned, the last thing she needed while she was trying to relax was someone bothering her with business matters, especially when she'd been one step closer a few moments ago to achieving her goal of scoring with the D.E.B. _Especially _when she'd been so close to scoring period, it had been entirely too long and she was growing crankier by the day. "Who is it?"

"It's Angelo Faustino, says he's here for a favor."

"Oh?" Lucy asked with raised brows, wondering what the Capo and eldest son of the Faustino family needed in way of a favor. They weren't necessarily a problem for the Reynolds, but any family, at any given time, could prove to be, especially one that wasn't that high up on the food chain. They were always hungry, always looking for opportunity, and usually not afraid to take a few risks. However asking for a favor meant they had something to offer in return, intrigued despite herself Lucy, decided to at least hear the man out.

"Yeah, he just arrived."

"Well clear out the lounge and escort him in," Lucy told her as she wrestled with the towel that bandaged her hand. Failing in her efforts, she whipped out a butterfly knife that she had concealed, flipping it open, she cut the fabric down the middle, releasing it from her hand and discarded it. Dom nodded, turned on her heels and head out the door to go retrieve the man.

Lucy took another glance over at Scud, and with a shake of the head she turned and headed towards Amy.

"Problems?" Amy asked. While at first she hadn't been thrilled with the interruption, but it had provided her with some much needed time to clear her head. She had been dangerously close to forgetting what she was there to do, and had been caught up in the moment. While a part of her regretted that she hadn't been able to find out precisely what the brunette tasted like, a smaller, and more rational part, knew that it was probably for the best.

"No, not a problem exactly. I just have some business I have to attend to." When Amy didn't stand immediately Lucy just looked at her expectantly.

Amy looked at Lucy with a slightly puzzled expression. "Oh!" Standing hastily, her face flushing slightly in embarrassment, Amy finally realized that Lucy wanted her to leave. "I'll go find Max, make sure she's not out starting any riots," Amy joked, partly to cover her discomfort, but there was a part that worried about the trouble Max could get into in a roomful of criminals.

"Sorry about this, it shouldn't take long," Lucy apologized. Lucy took Amy's hand and led her over towards the door. "I'll come find you when I'm done, maybe we can finally get that dance."

"You can't even dance!" Lucy heard Scud yell from under the table, along with another thud and curse as his head connected once again with the table. She only shook her head in slight embarrassment as she ignored his comment and continued to focus her attention on ushering Amy out.

Amy only smiled slightly, as she decided it probably wasn't a good time to get Lucy to expand on the comment Scud had just made. "That'd be nice," she replied, relieved when they came to a stop near the door. The sooner she could escape the better. She was still slightly flushed with embarrassment. When Lucy didn't immediately let her hand go, she looked questioningly at the other girl. Once again she found herself looking into Lucy's eyes, and could feel herself being drawn towards the brunette.

Just as the two girls started to lean towards each other again, the door suddenly swung open. Amy leaned back, startled, and a little annoyed with herself for losing control again so soon. She heard Lucy mutter something undecipherable, before she released her hand and stepped back.

"Lucy!" Greeted the newcomer loudly, "It's good to see you. It's been a while." The man seemed to be oblivious to his obvious interruption, "and who's this?" He asked in a slightly patronizing tone. Amy bristled at the dismissive tone of the new arrival. She quickly recognized him as Angelo Faustino, son of the head of the Faustino crime family in Vegas. While they were active in arms and racketeering, the size and scope of their activities had never been significant enough to warrant the attention of the D.E.B.S. Amy wondered just what Angelo was doing here, and why Lucy was entertaining a meeting with a relatively lowly family on such short notice. She cursed silently to herself that Lucy was asking her to leave.

"No one to concern yourself with Angelo. She was just leaving." Turning her back to Amy, Lucy stepped away from the door and led Angelo over to the seating area. "Sit and maybe you can tell me what is so important that you had to interrupt my leisure time." Effectively dismissed, Amy stepped through the doorway and entered the main hanger.

Dominique walked over to where her brother was still trifling around under the table, and tugged at his shirt. "What are you doing?"

Startled, he jerked his head up, slamming it against the table again. Cursing loudly, Scud crawled backwards and out from under the table. Staying in his seated position on the floor, he rubbed the back of his head. "I was checking to see what was wrong with the security feed, it seems to be stuck."

Dom looked up to the monitors; she did a quick scan and noticed that he had managed to knock off the feed for the entire hangar. What was now showing was streaming video from the airstrip that had previously been raced on. Of course, there was no movement there at the moment, so to an intoxicated, overworked brain, it appeared as though the feed was frozen. Typing in a few commands on the keyboard, the monitors changed to display the streaming feeds from inside and outside the hangar as it had before.

Scud peered over the edge of the table and saw the security system had been 'fixed'; he tilted his head in slight confusion as he looked to Dom. "Since when did you become tech support?" She only smiled as she helped him to his feet.

"Come on, we need to leave these two alone to talk business," Dom told him as she motioned with her head over to Lucy and Angelo.

Scud glared over Dom's shoulder when he saw Lucy sitting with someone he couldn't quite place in his current state of inebriation. However, he did know that Lucy would be alone with him, and even if she and Dom threw caution to the wind, he always factored in that something could go wrong.

"What?" He exclaimed as he looked at Dom with wide-eyes. "Clearly we aren't going to leave her in here with this guy!" Being pushed by Dom, he clumsily stumbled backwards towards the door. Managing to clear him from the door, Dom heard him yell into the room, "Don't worry Luce, there'll be some guys outside the door if -," she closed the door firmly behind her and sighed. Maybe getting Scud drunk hadn't been one of her better ideas after all.

* * *

Scanning the room, Amy tried to locate Max in the throng. When her first pass over the room yielded no results, she started a second, slower scan. Her attention was snared when she noticed Riley Schaffer still loitering by the doorway to the hangar, chatting with the same blonde from earlier. When she saw Riley meet her gaze, dismiss her, and then go back to flirting with the girl, Amy wondered briefly what she was up to. There was clearly something at play between Riley and Lucy, and Amy was determined to find out exactly what it was. Dismissing Riley for the moment, Amy decided that she would have to wade into the fray and find Max the hard way.

Eliminating the bar and dance floor as possible locations, Amy stuck to the perimeter of the large room. Knowing Max, she would be engaged in some competitive activity, her desire to win not limited to the racecourse. Sure enough, after a relatively brief search, she found her at a pool table tucked into the corner of the hangar. From the grouchy look on her opponents face, and the large wad of bills stacked on one rail, Amy figured Max was cleaning up. When Amy looked at her partner, the satisfied smirk on her face confirmed her suspicions.

She glanced at the table. All the solid balls had been pocketed, leaving only the eight-ball, with a fairly straight line to a corner pocket. Max casually chalked her cue, before leaning over the table and drawing back her stick. With a decisive move, Max called her shot and sent the cue forward as she connected solidly with the cue ball, sending the eight-ball easily into the pocket. Max stood back from the table and planted the bumper of the stick on the ground.

Grumbling under his breath, the other player spun away from the table in disgust. As he stalked past Amy, he rudely thrust the pool stick at her. "Maybe you'll have better luck." Amy frowned as she took the stick and looked back at the guy as he stalked away.

"Okay," Max said as she stood there with her pool stick in hand and looked around at the small crowd that had formed, "whose next?" At the challenge, the spectators began mumbling under their breaths to each other, before they all slowly slunk away leaving Amy and Max at the pool table by themselves.

"You always did know how to clear a room Max," Amy chuckled as she watched the people walking away.

Max simply shrugged. "Criminals are such sore losers", she told Amy as she walked around the table pulling the balls out of the pockets and throwing them on the table. "Which by the way, have you seen just how many are here tonight? Calling in a raid would definitely get us moved up on the International Bureau list." Amy made a noncommittal noise as she set the cue on the table and leaned against the edge, folding her arms. "What was that?" Max looked up at Amy for clarification.

"What was what?" Amy asked her in slight confusion.

"That noise you made when I mentioned the International Bureau."

Amy only shrugged as a response, not really knowing what to say. "Can we just not talk about this here?"

"I thought this is what we wanted, what we've always talked about since we graduated the academy."

Amy pushed herself away from the table and looked out towards the crowd. "No Max, it's what _you've_ always talked about," she retorted.

"So you're saying you don't want to?" Max asked a little too accusingly for Amy's liking.

Amy turned around to once again face Max; she saw the disapproving look on her friend's face. "What I'm saying is that we should talk about this some other time," she looked pleadingly at Max, not really wanting to get into a verbal altercation with her given their present location.

Max stared at her for a few moments before she turned her attention back to the pool table, grabbing the ball rack she placed the balls inside.

Amy let out a sigh of relief as she turned to face the crowd again. Overlooking the horde, she was able to pick out Scud in the crowd walking determinedly toward the DJ booth with a red head in tow. Once he reached his destination she watched as he walked behind the table. The DJ took off his headphones, placing them around his neck, and appeared to be protesting the fact that Scud had walked behind his booth. After a few moments, he held up his hands in defeat and handed Scud a pair of headphones. Scud placed them on and started bobbing his head to the music as he waved his arms around in the air.

Quite amused with the spectacle, she watched him for a few moments and wondered how he managed to become such a high ranking authority figure in one of the countries most notorious crime families. She then saw as Dominique casually walked up to the red head that Scud had with him, after a brief conversation, Dom and the girl walked away rather intimately. Oblivious to the whole scene, Scud continued on with his one-man party.

"What are you doing out here anyway? I thought the plan was for you to stay as close to Reynolds as possible." At Max's question, Amy directed her attention from scanning the room back to her partner. Amy sighed, knowing that Max was not going to take this particular bit of news well.

"She asked me to leave."

"Leave? It wasn't an hour ago that she was punching Bobby in the face for fucking with you, and now she just kicks you out? Did you two have your first lover's spat already?"

"No! We didn't have a spat, she had to take a meeting and she asked me to leave." At the mention of meeting Max immediately sobered, her slightly joking demeanor from moments ago forgotten.

"A meeting? With who?"

"Angelo Faustino."

"Don Faustino's oldest son? And you didn't think it would be worth it to maybe stick around and see what he wanted to talk about?" Amy was getting annoyed at the lecturing tone Max was taking with her. One of the few problems that she has with her partner was the other girl's belief that she was God's gift to law enforcement, and that no one else could ever measure up.

"Yes Max," Amy snapped out sarcastically, "I was sitting there on the couch, and when Dom announced that Faustino wanted to meet with Lucy, I just jumped right up and excused myself so I could come and receive a lecture from you." Amy saw Max's eyes narrow in annoyance. It wasn't often that she stood up to her partner. She knew that she was probably over-reacting but her pride was still stinging from Lucy's dismissal, not to mention that her mind was still a little foggy from the almost kiss; so she really wasn't in the mood for a lecture. "I know the music in here is loud, but did you not hear me say that Lucy _asked_ me to leave?"

"I heard you; I just thought that maybe, just maybe, someone with your training might have tried to find a way to stick around. It is kind of your job after all." Max folded her arms across her chest and took a step towards Amy, slightly crowding her personal space. It wasn't often that she was challenged, let alone hollered at, and she found that she didn't like the experience one little bit.

"I'm well aware of what my job is, Brewer." Amy responded coldly. "My job is to ensure that this mission is a success. My job is to make sure that Lucy trusts me. My job is to make sure that we get an air-tight case. But I hardly think that I am going to gain her trust, and minimize suspicion, by insisting that I be present at a business meeting that I should have no interest in." During the course of her mini-tirade, Amy had also stepped closer to Max as her irritation grew, and the two girls now found themselves almost nose to nose.

"Whatever Bradshaw, you're making a scene, but since you have some free time on your hands, how about we shoot a game?" At Max's words Amy relaxed her stance a bit and took a step back. She was a little chagrined that the two of them had managed to make a spectacle out of themselves. She looked out of the corners of her eyes to see if anyone had noticed their little spat. Luckily the music was so loud she didn't really worry that they had been overheard. After a brief scan she was satisfied that if anyone had noticed, they hadn't paid it any attention.

Realizing that the offer of a game was as close to an apology as Max was going to make, Amy grabbed the stick off the table and a chalk cube and rubbed it over the tip of the cue, "Rack 'em Brewer. Who knows, maybe I'll even break your win streak." Amy smiled as she said the last part, wanting to ease the tension that was still in the air between the two of them.

"When hell freezes over Bradshaw." Max joked, her former good humor restored.

* * *

"So Angelo, to what do I owe this unexpected visit." Lucy leaned back into the couch, taking a sip from her drink as she did so. While politeness probably dictated that she offer her guest a drink, she quite frankly was annoyed with his untimely interruption. Besides, since she was the only one left in the room she would have to get it herself, not something she was willing to do for someone in such a low ranking family.

"It really is good to see you again Lucy, we all were concerned after your father's death. When you didn't return, no one really knew what to think. It's a relief to see you back though." It took all Lucy had not to laugh at the man outright. The picture of concern he was trying to paint was so far outside the bounds of reality she had to wonder what he was thinking.

"Cut the bullshit Angelo. I am sure no one was happy to see me return. I may have been out of the country the last few years, but I wasn't out of the game. I know that my father was many things, and beloved by the other families and cartels was certainly not one of them. The only thing that would have made them happier than my father's death was if I had died right along with him." Lucy took another healthy swallow of her drink, even after all this time she had a hard time talking about her father. Feeling the liquor burn down her throat she leaned forward and placed her now empty class on the table with a loud crack.

"What? Lucy you have it all wrong…," Lucy smiled coldly as Angelo tried to sooth what he perceived to be her ruffled feathers.

"I have it wrong do I? First you interrupt me, and then you call me stupid. I have to say Angelo, for someone looking for a favor you sure do have a funny way of going about it." Lucy felt a distinct shot of satisfaction when she saw Angelo blanch at her words. _Heh...apparently my reputation precedes me. _"As fun as it is watching you squirm I really do have other things I could be doing with my time. Now why don't you stop trying to convince me that everyone wants to throw a welcome home party for me and get to the point."

"Fine. I was just trying to make small talk." Lucy's scoff let him know what she thought of his social abilities. "As you know the Faustino family is one of the most powerful families in Las Vegas, with the Valerio's being our main rivals." Lucy raised an eyebrow at this statement, a clear sign of her disbelief. If Angelo noticed, he gave no sign and continued on un-phased.

"Well over the last few months the struggle between the two families has really heated up and we are at a deadlock. There are a few key rackets still in play, and who ever manages to capture those is going to end up tipping the scales in their favor. Once that happens it's only a matter of time before a complete monopoly develops."

Deciding, for now, to not challenge Angelo's rather biased view of his families standing in Vegas, Lucy asked, "And why exactly, do I care about a struggle for power in Vegas?"

"You have interests there don't you? A shift of power that leaves the Valerio's in control only hurts you. You know how unreasonable and greedy they are. If you were to lend a bit of support now, my father has agreed to allow you to maintain the holdings you already have there, we won't even take a cut of the action. Just two friends doing each other a mutual favor."

Lucy let out an undignified snort and grabbed her empty glass from the table. Walking over to the bar she poured herself a generous refill, before returning to her seat. "That's really how you want to approach this?"

"What do you mean? I simply laid out the facts, do you want to help or not."

"Facts? You must either be joking, stupid, or delusional. Like I said Angelo, I might've been out of town, but I am still aware of the landscape. Your family has never been a serious contender to take control of Vegas, you know that, and I certainly know that. If you need help with something just spit it out already. But don't insult my intelligence by trying to sell it to me as you doing _me_ a favor."

Angelo looked for a moment as though he was going to argue with her. She decided that if he did she was going to call in Scud's goons and have him escorted out. Her patience was wearing very, very thin.

"Okay look," he sighed, apparently accepting defeat, "the Valerio's are poised to take control of Vegas, and if they do, they are going to be powerful enough to drive everyone else out. No one in Nevada is strong enough to stop them. I tried to get a bunch of the smaller families to band together, and work against them, but everyone's petty concerns keep getting in the way. The fact of the matter is, if we do manage to overturn the Valerio's we would all just end up turning on each other immediately afterward. I finally realized that what we needed wasn't a coalition of Vegas families, but rather someone that didn't really have a stake there, or at least, not a big one. The Reynolds family is large, and diversified enough, that Vegas is more of a sideline for you anyway. If you lend your support to us now, and tip the scales in our favor, we will remember it, and make sure that you are rewarded amply."

"See, now that wasn't so hard was it? If you had just said that from the start you could have saved us both a bit of time."

"So does that mean that you'll help?" Angelo sat forward in his seat.

"Now I didn't say that. I still need to think on this for a bit. I mean like you said, Vegas is more of a hobby for my family. We have always preferred to focus our energies in L.A. and abroad. The desert has never been my favorite place, plus that heat and sun plays havoc on my car's paint jobs. So if we were to be unable to continue operations there it wouldn't exactly break my heart." Lucy took a sip of her drink, hiding the small smirk that appeared when she noticed the disappointed look that appeared on Angelo's face at her words. Toying with people was always so much fun. "On the other hand," she continued, causing him to perk up once again, she really had missed wielding the family power during her time in Iceland, "I really don't like being told what I can and can't do. Besides, the Valerio's never sent condolences after my father died. I find that rude. Get with Scud and tell him what you need." Remembering the state he had been in when she had last seen him, Lucy added, "Tomorrow."

"Thank you, Lucy. You won't regret this. As soon as we gain control in Vegas we will make sure that you are handsomely rewarded for your assistance." Lucy noted the relieved look on the man's face. Clearly this had been a last ditch effort to salvage what he could of his family. He probably hadn't expected it to work. If she had been her father, it probably wouldn't have. But Lucy and her father had always butted heads on how to best handle rivals. Lorenzo had been a strong believer in crushing the competition, rarely making deals with small organizations like the Faustino's. Lucy however found there could be great benefits in having someone deeply beholden to you. Besides, they really were too small to be much of a worry.

"I don't want your money Angelo, money I have plenty of. What I will take is your word that if I ever need a favor, no matter the time, no matter the circumstances, you will be there, no questions asked." She smiled thinly when she saw his expression drop slightly. He clearly must have thought he was getting one over on the new kid, that she hadn't fully understood the magnitude of what he was asking. She saw him swallow, before extending his hand. "You have my word. Whatever you need, whenever you need it." Lucy placed her glass on the table and grasped his offered hand, shaking it to seal the bargain. "I won't forget this Lucy, it means a lot."

"Oh I know," she smirked. "And I have no intention of letting you and your old man forget Angelo." She reclaimed her hand and sat back on the couch. "You know the way out." He hesitated for a second at the abrupt dismissal before he quickly collected himself and stood. While he beat a hasty exit to the door, Lucy leaned forward and picked up her glass, taking another swallow. She sat for a moment in the relative quiet of the room, before standing from the comfort of the couch.

It was time to go find a certain D.E.B.

* * *

Riley stood by the hangar doors shooting impatient looks towards the door that Lucy had passed through minutes earlier.

When she had made her way to the exit after her unfortunate run in with Lucy after the race, she had been all set to leave. But a cute blonde in a revealing outfit had distracted her en route and she had decided maybe it was a little early to call it a night quite yet. If Lucy was going to entertain herself, why shouldn't she.

After talking with the girl for a few minutes, Riley had come to the conclusion that an easy lay might not be worth it after all. She had met some annoying people in her time but this girl was a serious contender for first prize. Just as she had been about to cut her loose, Riley noticed Lucy looking her way. If the look on her face had been any judge, seeing her with another girl had shaken her former girlfriend. Unfortunately Lucy had allowed the blonde bimbo to drag her off again.

When she was about to concede defeat again, she had been given renewed hope when the annoying blond had been kicked out of the room alone, looking less then pleased with the situation. This is why Riley found herself in her current position, if Lucy had dismissed the blonde maybe there was still hope.

She nodded her head absently, as her companion continued to chatter on mindlessly. Riley was grateful that the music drowned out most of the twits prattling. When she saw the door that Lucy was behind swing open, she straightened from her slouch against the wall, and moved to draw the blonde close. Seeing the brunette emerge seconds later, Riley found it hard to suppress a sigh. After all these years Lucy still had the ability to make her heart skip a beat.

She was gratified to note that Lucy looked almost immediately in her direction. Taking that as her cue, she moved in close to the girl in her arms and put her mouth near her ear. Across the room she noticed Lucy's perturbed disposition as her eyes narrowed at the action. Seeing that she had fully snared the other girl's attention, she swept her companions hair off of her neck and planted a series of kisses along the length, grimacing slightly as she got a taste of the other girl's cheap perfume. However, she smirked in satisfaction when she saw Lucy shake her head and down the rest of the liquid in the glass she held.

Having gotten the reaction she was hoping for she looked across the room and made eye contact with Lucy. Holding up her hand she waved slightly, sending Lucy her most cocky grin, before turning and dragging the other girl out of the door. Stepping out into the fresh air was a relief after the stuffiness of the hangar. The lessening of the noise level was also welcomed, as she could once again hear herself think.

"So do you want to go to your place or mine?" Having almost completely forgotten about the girl she had been using to make Lucy jealous, Riley turned to look at her.

"Neither…get lost." Without another word, and completely uncaring of the other girls outraged look, Riley made her way toward her car, satisfied that she had succeeded in getting to the great Lucy Diamond. Yes indeed, if her reaction was any indication, hope was alive and well.

* * *

After watching Riley's display with the blonde, and fighting her way through the crowd, Lucy was ready to call it a night. When she'd stopped at the bar for another drink, one of the many tuner girls that were around, latched onto her, as they tended to do. At first she was going to send her on her way but changed her mind; having someone else hold your drink while you pushed through the crowd was always handy. When Lucy finally spotted Amy and Max at the pool table, she saw that Dom had also found the two-some and was busy entertaining a busty red head.

Still dragging the girl behind her, she walked up to Amy and Max. "There you two are. Finding enough to keep you occupied? I see that you have Dom…as usual." Lucy gave a little smirk in Dominique's direction, who met her gaze with a look of disapproval as she motioned to Lucy's companion. Bringing another girl along with you while you were supposedly trying to charm another was not a smart move. _Even I'm not that insensitive to the ladies, _Dom thought to herself. And knowing Lucy the way she did, she knew that she wasn't normally that clueless either, so something was definitely up. Lucy casually shrugged as she turned and retrieved her glass from the girl. She saw Amy's eyes narrow at the action but decided not to acknowledge it. Who she wanted to have fetch and carry for her certainly wasn't either of their business.

When Amy didn't respond to Lucy's question, Max spoke up. "Yeah, we were just keeping ourselves entertained by shooting a few games. For some reason no one wants to play with me." Max grinned cockily and held up the roll of bills that she had managed to win off of her earlier opponents. She considered it something of a public service, after all if she won all their money how could they go out and spend it on illicit materials. And while she was sure this was frowned upon in the D.E.B.S. handbook, if she just happened to be able to buy that new gun she had been eyeing, well, that was even better. It was going to be used to capture criminals after all.

"And what about you?" Directing the question to Amy. "Have you found enough to keep you busy?" Her question came out a little sharper than was necessary.

Amy easily detected the slight edge in the brunette's tone. Not quite sure of Lucy's frame of mind, or what could have happened between her leaving ten minutes ago and now, she decided to tread carefully. "Yeah, unfortunately Max scared everyone off so now she's dragged me into playing with her."

Amy wasn't the only one who had noticed the surly tone from Lucy. Dom sighed as she stood and excused herself from her current conquest; walking up to Lucy she stopped beside her and grabbed her forearm. "Excuse me ladies, we'll be right back," Dom said as she ushered Lucy away from the pool table, and out of listening range.

"What's up?" Lucy looked at Dom slightly puzzled.

"Meeting turn out okay?"

"Yeah, it went well…Faustino just needs some muscle to strong arm the Valerio's, we'll talk about it later." Lucy answered, still slightly confused as to why Dom really pulled her aside.

Dominique crossed her arms. "So what's the problem?"

"What?"

"The meeting went fine and you're clearly not drunk…so why are you acting so…bitchy?"

"I am not acting bitchy," Lucy retorted, in a decidedly bitchy tone.

"You are, I definitely sense an attitude and I guess all that time spent in Iceland has made your game a little rusty because really Luce, why would you drag another girl in the presence of one that you're trying to hook up with…It's no wonder you're not getting any!"

"Are you kidding me?" Lucy asked mildly offended. "We both know that I can score with every chick in this joint if I wanted to!"

"Yeah? So why are you settling on the one that really has no place here and failing terribly?" Dom asked, clearly referring to the blonde D.E.B. that Lucy had made it a point to seduce and then send her on her way.

Lucy rolled her eyes at Dom's question; she was going to treat it as though it was meant rhetorically and not answer. She certainly did not want to make her sex life, or the current lack thereof, the topic of conversation at the moment so she turned the conversation around. "This is funny…you of all people shouldn't be given lectures on juggling women Dom, considering you know nothing about monogamy!"

"Yes well, I know enough to not bring all of them together at once…," Dom stopped and thought for a moment, "unless of course it's been agreed upon." She finished with a wink at Lucy, who could only laugh as she shook her head at the statement. "Now unless you need me to give you a few pointers, get back over there and be nice, you have a girl to impress."

"Whatever," Lucy replied, rolling her eyes in annoyance. The last thing she needed was advice on how to pick up women. _I mean really, who does Dom think she's talking to for fucks sake? Scud? _Knowing that she probably had let Riley get the best of her and put her in a foul mood, Lucy was determined to get her head back in the game, and focus more on her target. Since she was there for no particular reason other than just as a prop; Lucy chose to ignore the still hovering tuner girl and instead went to stand beside Amy.

"So, you like pool huh?" Lucy asked Amy, in a more relaxed tone.

"Yeah," Amy responded with a slight smirk, "guess you didn't have me pegged for that either, now did you?"

Remembering how she'd stuck her foot in her mouth earlier when she mentioned the Viper, Lucy held up her hands in a yielding gesture as she laughed. "I was simply asking this time."

"Well then, since you're asking...," Amy asserted teasingly, "yes, I like the game okay"

"Any good?"

"Yeah, but playing Max always presents a challenge, keeps my skills pretty sharp though. Do you want to play a game?" Amy looked over at the table, attempting to assess how long it should take for Max to clear the table of her remaining balls. She had the annoying habit of running the table if she got the break.

Lucy raised a brow at Amy's question and leaned casually against the pool table. "Are you implying that I wouldn't be much of a challenge?"

"No, not at all," Amy told her as she planted the bumper of her stick on the floor and placed her right hand on her hip.

"Good because I would hate to have to show you up in front of your partner, besides I was hoping to continue what we were up to earlier." Lucy leaned closer to Amy, placing her hands on her waist and pulled her closer. Amy blushed slightly at what Lucy was implying, mainly because she figured Max was listening to every word that was being spoken and was probably wondering just what the hell Lucy meant. Amy's assumption that Max was indeed listening was confirmed when she heard Max give off a series of curses; she'd been so distracted eavesdropping on Amy and Lucy that she'd missed her shot.

Turning her head to look at the table, Amy attempted to pull back from Lucy. When she felt Lucy's grip on her waist tighten, she met her eyes and ran her free hand slowly up and down Lucy's arm. "Looks like I'm up," she told her as she motioned over to the table with her head. Lucy gave a little eye-roll, which made Amy chuckle a little, and reluctantly released her. Max looked on with interest as she leaned against her cue trying to assess the situation.

Amy turned and looked over the table to determine what shot she was going to take. Seeing as she was slightly behind, she was grateful for the missed shot by Max, at least now she'd have a chance to catch up. However, with Lucy looking on, she felt a little nervous. Finally deciding on something, Amy bent over the table getting ready to take her shot. Hearing Lucy laugh, she became distracted and looked to her with annoyance clearly showing on her face. "What?"

Lucy downed the rest of her drink, placed the glass on the side of the table, and walked over to where Amy was standing. "No wonder Max always kicks your ass, for one, your stance is all wrong!"

Amy frowned slightly at the ridicule she was getting from Lucy on her pool playing skills, admittedly, she wasn't the greatest player, but she could hold her own. Standing upright, she watched Lucy round the table to stand next to her. "I never said Max always kicked my ass, thank you. What I said was that she was a challenge." Amy told her as she cocked her hip to the side and placed her hand on it.

"Right," Lucy told her, disbelief evident in her voice. She grasped Amy's shoulders and turned her towards the table. "Now take your stance."

"Um…that's what I was doing before you decided to interrupt," Amy retorted before she decided to just go with it. She once again leaned over the table and lined up her shot. Her cheeks warmed as she felt Lucy press herself against her backside and felt her hands splay along her hips. Hearing the soft guttural moan from Lucy, Amy wasn't sure if Lucy was given her a perfect pool stance lesson, or a lesson on the Kamasutra, either way, she didn't mind.

Collecting herself, Lucy got back to the task at hand. "This will probably be a bit difficult for you, considering your choice of wardrobe…not that I'm complaining…," Lucy told her huskily as she ran her hands along the short length of the leather skirt Amy was wearing, "but you're standing with one foot in front of the other, and that may feel right, but you should stand with your feet shoulder width apart. This shifts the weight evenly between your legs and the table instead of forward." Lucy slid her leg between Amy's and attempted to nudge her legs apart. Due to the very limited range of motion the leather skirt provided, this action caused Amy to waver slightly but Lucy's grip tightened a bit to steady her. "Careful" Lucy said soothingly in Amy's ear, "don't want you falling and trying to sue me," she joked before continuing on. "Bend your knees to find your shot."

By this point, Max was getting rather impatient, not to mention slightly nauseated at the two, and decided that she would just break up the game. "Okay," she interrupted, "since this has become a two on one event, and you guys have decided to gang up on me, I think I'll leave you to your 'lesson'. Besides, Amy really could use the advice…her pool skills do kinda suck, and yes…I do always manage to kick her ass." Amy's head shot up in Max's direction at the statement and saw her walking off.

Max walked over and placed her cue in the cue rack, before sitting on the arm of the sofa that Dom and her companion occupied. She noticed that the tuner girl that had arrived on Lucy's arm had finally wandered off. _Just as well, the last thing Amy needs is competition in her pursuit of Lucy's affections_. Judging by how the brunette had plastered herself onto her partner's back, whatever had caused Lucy to dismiss Amy earlier, and her obvious irritation after she first arrived didn't seem to be stopping the brunette's pursuit of her partner.

Lucy barely registered Max's withdrawal from the game; she was much more engrossed in the agent that she held in front of her. She slightly nudged Amy forward, causing her to sprawl slightly onto the table. "Once you've found your shot, place your hand firmly into the table and set your cue." Lucy watched as Amy listened, when she figured she was ready she stepped back and gave Amy a little swat on the ass, "Now shoot."

Amy jumped slightly at the action, but decided to play it cool. Looking out over the table, Amy's concentration was momentarily broken as she averted her eyes to take note of a blonde woman she realized has been staring in their direction since Lucy had shown up.

"Any day now," she heard Lucy say from behind her and refocused her attention on the table. Amy steadied herself and pulled back her cue, moving it forward slowly at an imaginary target, she readied herself for the shot. In one smooth motion, she thrust the cue forward and connected solidly with the cue ball. Both girls watched as the target ball sunk into the pocket. "There you go." Lucy folded her arms and smiled broadly, obviously content with her little impromptu lesson.

"And I won't even charge you for that," she told her as she grabbed her hips and pulled her back against her, speaking directly into Amy's ear. Amy merely rolled her eyes at the brunette and before she could mention that she probably would've made the shot without the schooling on her stance, her attention was once again redirected to the blonde that was now obviously staring with a not so pleasant glare.

Frowning slightly as she turned in Lucy's arms, Amy locked eyes with the brunette. "So who's the chick that keeps giving me the death stare?" Amy asked as she motioned over her shoulder.

Lucy looked at Amy with confusion illustrated on her face as she glanced over Amy's shoulder to see who exactly it was she was referring too. Dramatically rolling her eyes she looked back to Amy, releasing the grip she had on her. "Definitely no one you should concern yourself with." Lucy told her as she walked over to the cue rack and looked them over. "In fact, if you ever see her, you should probably stay as far away as possible."

"Why's that?" Amy asked slightly amused, and relieved that Lucy's reaction was one of genuine disgust.

"Because she's a head case!" Lucy pulled a cue off the rack and walked back over to the table and began pulling the balls out of the pockets, throwing them on the table.

Chuckling slightly, Amy took another glance as the woman, who now looked as though she knew she was the butt of some sort of joke, stalked away. She also made a mental note to take Lucy at her word to stay away from her if she ever saw her again; Amy had already recognized her. _Ninotchka Kaprova, former KGB agent, and involved in countless of other not so stellar activities_. Turning her attention back to Lucy, she saw that she'd set the ball rack, removed it and was now positioning herself to break.

"Sure, I don't mind you going first." Amy teased, smiling as she saw Lucy smirk at her tone.

"Well I figured I would since you were busy checking out the crazy Russian."

Amy gaped at Lucy with faux astonishment at her statement. "I was not checking her out!" She said as she saw Lucy push the cue forward and watched the balls scatter about the table. She shook her head and sighed as she saw two of the striped balls sink into a pocket, _great she's just as good as Max._

"Sure you weren't," Lucy told her with wink as she rounded the table to set herself up for another shot.

Seeing this as her opportunity to pry a bit, and knowing that Lucy was probably a little buzzed, Amy changed the subject. "So did your little meeting go well?"

Lucy paused a bit as she was about to take her next shot, she took head at the way Amy had called her meeting with Angelo "little", trying to portray a nonchalant attitude as she attempted to engage her in conversation about it.

"Yes," Lucy responded vaguely as she struck the cue ball to send another striped ball successfully into a pocket.

Seeing that's all that Lucy was going to give her at the moment, Amy decided to press forward. "So who was that guy anyway, he was kind of rude…I didn't like his attitude."

Lucy stood upright with a slight sigh of irritation, setting her stick on the ground and narrowing her eyes at Amy. "He's no one." Amy grimaced slightly as Lucy turned her back to her to look the table over; she was becoming more discouraged by the second at Lucy's unwavering disposition to talk about her business. Clearly Lucy hadn't had enough to drink to become unaware and talkative, as she had suspected. Just as Amy was about to change tactics, and Lucy had leaned over the table to take her next shot, they were interrupted once again for what seemed like the hundredth time that night, by someone calling Lucy's name.

Somewhat welcoming the interruption from the interrogation the blonde agent was attempting, Lucy quickly changed her mind when she saw who it was. "What do you want? I'm kinda busy at the moment." Lucy replied shortly, casting a significant look at the blonde beside her. Lucy felt no need to be particularly polite; she had identified the speaker as Nicolas Simmons, a low ranking solider in the Pierce family.

The interloper gave Amy a quick once over, grinning slightly before replying. "Oh, I'll keep it brief. I just thought you might like to know that I have some information on a shipment of M26's. And given the right incentive I would be more than happy to share it." His wheedling tone was starting to grate on Lucy's last nerve, not to mention his ogling of the blonde.

Tossing her cue stick onto the table, she grasped his upper arm roughly and pulled him away from the table. She knew that she was already skating a very thin line, bringing the D.E.B.S. this far into her organization, so the last thing she needed was for them to overhear the details of a possible arms drop.

"Didn't your bosses teach you anything about discretion?" Lucy questioned harshly. Pulling his arm out of her grasp, he brushed at the arm of his jacket to remove the imaginary wrinkles that he felt Lucy's grasp had created.

"Chill out. There are no cops around; I have a sense for these things. Don't you have any women's intuition?"

Noticing the exchange, Dom left the comfort of her position next to the girl she was entertaining and made her way over to Lucy and, who she realized to be the unscrupulous, Nic Simmons. As she approached, she noticed the ever present goons starting to swarm, giving a little nod to them; she took her position beside Lucy.

"Dominique!" Nicolas exclaimed. "It's so good to see you again!" The look on his face when he spoke indicated exactly the opposite.

Lucy looked at Dom and back to Nicolas, wondering just what he meant by 'again'. Her curiosity was soon put at ease.

"Hello Nic…seems like it's been ages." A smirk formed on Dom's face as she remembered the last time she had seen him.

"It does! But then again it's not everyday you find your wife in bed with another woman." He told her with a slight hint of venom lacing his voice.

Lucy turned to look at Dom once again, refusing to let any kind of shock register on her face, after all this was Dom. However, she couldn't help the small smile that had formed.

"How is the little darling?" Dom asked, evidently trying to add a little more insult to injury.

"Dead." Nic stated flatly. "Terrible, terrible car accident." He said, trying to sound sincere.

"Hmmm," Dom hummed thoughtfully, "no wonder she never called."

Lucy's smile was now threatening to turn into full blown laughter, albeit very entertaining, Lucy thought it was time to put an end to this little exchange and get back to the matter at hand. She glared at Simmons but remained silent.

Taking this as his cue to continue with his proposition, Nicolas cleared his throat as he looked between the two. "Yeah so, as I was saying, I got the goods on this new weapon that was developed strictly for the military. It combines a standard lightweight shotgun with a rifle. So you get a long and short range weapon in one! Some good shit huh?" He waggled his brows, which seemed to enhance his weasel-like character even more.

"Why exactly are you telling us this?" Dom figured it best to ask before Lucy could step in and strangle him.

"Well, I mean, I figured information like this would have a certain...value. And who better to appreciate that then the Reynolds? You guys have some of the best runners around, so I know this would be a cakewalk for you." He smiled, what Dom was sure he thought was a charming expression, but in fact just made him look slightly foolish.

"Did the Pierces' finally cut you loose? Last I knew you were still on their payroll." Dom kept her eyes on him and was pleased to note that several of their guards had now positioned themselves behind Simmons. There was something that she just didn't trust about the guy.

"No. Why would you think that?"

"Gee, I don't know," Dom put her hand on her chin and tapped one finger along her jaw, apparently deep in thought, "maybe the fact that if you are still with them, why in the world are you bringing this information to a rival family?" Dom did nothing to try to conceal the disdain from her voice.

"Aw, c'mon, you know we all make a little extra on the side. There's no harm in using a little information to better your position, right? I mean we both know this would be out of their scope anyway. So why waste the time, and potential profit. What they don't know won't hurt them. Or me."

"What the hell you guys!" Lucy saw more than heard Scud as he approached with his arms flailing around, interrupting the makeshift meeting. He stood between Lucy, Dom, and Nicolas, causing Nic to take a few step back. His eyes widened when he found he had bumped right into one of the guards that had positioned themselves behind him. He cleared his throat and straightened his jacket as he turned back around, taking a few tentative steps forward trying to put some space between him and the men.

"Another meeting that I didn't know about!" Scud continued on with his ranting, "This is very atypical of the kind of organization we're running here." Scud told them in a derisive tone as he held up a finger and looked back and forth between Lucy and Dom as if he was watching a ping pong match, ultimately making himself dizzier. Seeing that he was likely about to topple over, Lucy and Dom both reached out to grab him. Lucy shot Dom a look, clearly showing her increasing displeasure with the spiking of his drink.

"Yeah, yeah…I got him," Dom told her as she took Scud by the arm. "You're always embarrassing me!" Lucy heard her say as they walked away.

Turning her attention back to the man standing in front of her, Lucy decided it was time to end this. "Get out." For the first time since he had explained why he was here Lucy broke into the conversation.

"What? You can't be serious. You mean to tell me you have no interest in acquiring a shipment of M26's? You getting soft Diamond?" His words were abruptly cut off when Lucy stepped forward into his personal space and he felt the point of a blade being pushed into the soft skin under his chin. With this move, the men behind Nicolas had also moved in a little closer, ready to take him down if he made one false move against their leader.

"Care to repeat that?" Lucy stared straight into the now frightened eyes of the man standing in front of her. She'd had just about enough of his shit. When he remained quiet and simply shook his head in the negative, she smiled an expression totally devoid of humor. "Didn't think so. I want you out of my fucking sight. I have no use for people that are willing to sell out their loyalty to earn a little cash. You can take your information and go try to pedal it somewhere else, but don't be surprised if your extra curricular activities make themselves known to your boss."

Stepping back, she finally pulled the blade away from his throat and stowed it back in its proper hiding place. A quick glance over his shoulder to the guards that had tensed when she moved close, reassured them that she had everything under control. She flicked her eyes back to the man that still stood motionless in front of her. "Why are you still standing here? Did I not tell you to get lost? Move!" Not needing any further encouragement she watched as he stumbled away and disappear into the crowd. A quick moment of eye contact with one of the guards and a nod after his retreating figure had the guard moving to follow their unwanted guest.

"Yeah, you're right, you're not bitchy at all this evening," Dom appeared next to Lucy once again. "I think you may have made the poor thing wet his pants a little." Dom joked, hoping to ease some of the tension that she could detect in Lucy.

"He called me soft. I'm not going to let shit like that slide."

"You weren't even a little curious as to the information he had?" Dom watched her boss carefully; she had been on a bit of a hair trigger all night.

"Oh I never said that. But I'll be damned if I am going to deal with a little rat bastard like Nicolas Simmons. Anyone that would sell out their own family doesn't deserve anything, certainly not a pay out." The disgust was clear in the brunette's voice. Dom was not surprised; she knew that one thing Lucy valued almost above all others was loyalty.

"I remember there was talk about the development of the M26's a while back, so if they're in circulation particularly for the military, they're going to be in limited supply. Besides, they are pretty sweet…I wouldn't mind adding them to our own personal arsenal of weaponry." Dom stated as she folded her arms.

"Yeah, they would be a sweet addition and would definitely lighten the load for our boys. But if Simmons could get his hands on the information, I'm sure some of my less detestable associates have as well. Check around and see what you can find out." Dom nodded as both girls turned to walk back and join the rest of the group in the pool table area.

While Lucy didn't make it a point to keep up with who Dom slept with, she couldn't help it, she had to inquire. "Did you really sleep with his wife?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

Lucy finally let out the laughter she'd been holding since first hearing of it, "You have absolutely no morals!" She told her jokingly, but also truthfully.

"Nope."

* * *

Max watched as Lucy grabbed the guy that had shown up by the arm and dragged him out of ear shot. As Dom stood and walked over to their location, she immediately stood and walked over to stand by Amy. "What's going on?" She asked in a hushed tone.

"I'm not really sure, but I did hear something about M26's." Amy told her and she kept her gaze fixed on Lucy.

"Ooh, that's the new weapon specially designed for the military." Max noted, as she curiously eyed the three outlaws. Amy only nodded in response. "Well shit Bradshaw, you're once again missing vital information, why didn't you go over there with her!"

Amy took her eyes off the impromptu meeting long enough to shoot her partner an outraged look. Seeing the small grin on the other girl's lips she let out an irritated huff of breath before turning her attention back to Lucy. "Kidding Bradshaw, just kidding. You need to lighten up." Max chuckled at how easy it was to get a rise out of the blonde.

Amy watched the scene playing out before them carefully. "Do you recognize who that is?"

"No, that means that whoever he is, he can't be that big a player." Max looked on the scene with no small amount of frustration. It seemed that every time they were in a position to find out some information, Lucy took off and they ended up with nothing. "This is bullshit, every time it's about to get interesting she takes off. We gotta find some way to earn her trust."

"I'm working on it Max. These things take time." Amy continued to keep her eyes trained on the small group that stood a short distance away. While she was not really able to see anything but the backs of the two girls, she couldn't complain too much about the view.

"These things take time? And just how much experience do you have with "these things" Bradshaw. Unless I'm mistaken this is the first time a situation like this has come up on an op," Max looked at her partner questioningly.

"I'm just saying that building trust takes time, that's all. You can hardly expect her to just embrace us with open arms." _Although I wouldn't mind one single bit if she offered_. Her less then professional thoughts were interrupted when she saw Scud stumble into the small meeting. After a few moments, she watched as Dom grabbed him and started dragging him in their direction. _Great. _Stopping in front of the two D.E.B.S, Dom let go of her brother. "Lucy and I have a couple more things to wrap up, shouldn't take too long though. Would you mind keeping an eye on this one for me? Someone had a little too much to drink." Dom conveniently left out her involvement in her brother's current predicament.

Max looked at Scud with a slightly disgusted look, _what the hell do we look like? Babysitters! _Noticing the look on Max's face, Amy stepped forward. "Sure, no problem." Dom uttered a quick thanks before turning to go rejoin Lucy.

Amy watched as Lucy suddenly lunged forward and placed a knife against the man's throat. Instinctively, she moved forward but was promptly halted as Max held her arm out in front of her. She frowned slightly as she looked over to Max, who shook her head, silently telling her not to get involved. _Oh now she wants me to back off._ Amy sighed as she took a step back but kept her focus on Lucy. It wasn't until Scud spoke that attention was broken.

"You're pretty." Amy watched as Scud swayed slightly, with his eyes fixed blearily on her. "No wonder Lucy wants to sleep with you." Amy raised her eyebrows in surprise. She elbowed Max in the side when she snorted at Scud's proclamation.

"Well, um...good to know." Amy really had no idea how to respond.

"Yeah, I told her not too, but she never listens. Stubborn."

"Why?" Amy's curiosity was piqued. Maybe with his defenses down he would let something slip, and let her know what she could do to help gain his trust. Also, she wanted to know if it was something that could possibly deter Lucy from any attempts._ Only out of curiosity though. Because it's not like it would matter if it did. Nope. Not at all. _

"What?" Scud looked back at her blankly.

"Why did you tell Lucy that?"

"Tell Lucy what?"

"Tell her not to sleep with me?" Amy tried to keep the irritation out of her voice. The line of questioning earned Amy a curious look from Max.

"Huh?" Scud looked at her, confusion all over his face. "Lucy's not asleep. She's over there." He tried to point over his shoulder and ended up almost poking her eyes out when he swung his arm wildly in front of him. She reached out to steady him when it seemed like his antics were going to knock him on his ass. Out of reflex Amy looked over his shoulder and noticed that Dom and Lucy were now standing by themselves.

Realizing that getting anything useful out of Scud was a lost cause, she changed the subject. Besides, the last thing she wanted was to get caught interrogating Scud about Lucy's desire to sleep with her. She had embarrassed herself enough in front of the beautiful brunette. "You wanna play a game?" Amy motioned towards the pool table.

"Finally looking to win a game Bradshaw?" Max ribbed, speaking for the first time since Scud's arrival. Amy decided to just ignore her.

"Bingo." Scud proclaimed loudly.

"What?" Amy struggled to keep up with the rapid subject change.

"I like bingo. Can we play bingo?"

"Well um...no, I was thinking more of a game of pool." Amy motioned over to the pool table again. "But maybe we can try bingo some other time," she explained patiently. This information did not appear to penetrate Scud's drunken stupor as he was now hopping around in a small circle while chanting 'Bingo! Bingo! Bingo!' over and over.

Suddenly he stopped and pointed at Amy. "You just don't want to play because you know you'll lose!" Jumping on top of the pool table, he raised his hands high above his head. "I am the GOD of Bingo!" Scud yelled loudly, so loud that he even managed to draw the attention of some of the people nearby, quite a feat considering the volume of the music. Feeling a hand come to rest on her lower back Amy jumped slightly before spinning to see who had come up behind her.

"Jumping on the table is definitely not a pointer you should pick up for the game." Lucy looked embarrassingly at Scud as she watched while Dom and Max managed to pull him off the table without incident. "I hope he wasn't too much trouble?" She looked to Amy with a small smile.

"Oh no, the God of Bingo has been just fine. I think he might be a tad drunk however." Amy replied, laughing at her vast understatement.

"Yeah Scud has definitely had a few too many." Amy watched as Lucy shot Dom a playful glare. Seeing that Dom had quickly reacquainted herself with her busty friend on the sofa, Lucy decided that she'd have to be the one responsible for getting Scud out of there. "I hate to cut things short, but I think I should probably get him home before he embarrasses me any further." She looked at Amy apologetically.

Amy swallowed her disappointment, and the urge to ask the brunette to stay just a little longer. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. I have to work tomorrow anyway." She looked into Lucy's eyes, "Will I see you again, soon?" She told herself she was only being so forward for the operation.

"Do you want to see me again…soon?" Lucy felt a surge of confidence, making her a little cocky. She reached over and took Amy's hand in hers and affectionately stroked the back of it with her thumb. _Pointers from Dom my ass, definitely nothing wrong with my game. _While Lucy knew that Amy was here to do a job, hell they both had ulterior motives where each other was concerned, something in the blonde's eyes told her that there was more to it then that. The blush working its way up from the other girls neck also told her that the attraction she was feeling was mutual.

"Yes." It was one word, but it was one of the hardest, and easiest that Amy had ever spoken. As she said it she realized that it was true. Even if they didn't have the op as an excuse she would definitely want to see the girl again, very soon. _Shit._

"You will then." Not wanting to look too eager, Lucy simply left it at that. Releasing her hand and stepping away from Amy she wrapped her arm around Scud's shoulders. "C'mon GOB lets get you home and into bed."

Scud looked at her in surprise. "You want to get me into bed? Luce that's just gross. You're like a sister to me." His gaze shifted to Amy. "Besides I thought you wanted to get her into bed, that's what you said earlier." Lucy felt a blush creep up her neck. _So much for Scud not embarrassing me any further_. A quick glance at Amy showed that the blonde was definitely enjoying her discomfort.

"And on that note...," spinning Scud towards the door she shoved him none to gently between the shoulders. He stumbled slightly, but a couple of his boys rushed in to prevent him from going down completely. "I'll be in touch," Lucy said over her shoulder before disappearing into the crowd.

Walking up beside her Max threw her arm over Amy's shoulders. "Well it looks like I was wrong; she does still seem to be into you. I guess you are doing your job."

"Shut up Max," Amy growled, but before she could retaliate more, Dom appeared behind them.

"You two heading out as well?"

"Yeah, we're gonna call it a night," Max told her as she looked over at Amy who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah so am I," Dom said with a sly smile as she quickly glanced over her shoulder. "Before you leave though, I guess I should probably get a little info from you guys on where I need to drop off the car. Wait here." Dom set off to fetch something to take down the information.

Max looked over at the girl who had now stood and seemed to be waiting patiently for Dominique. With a grin in place, Max looked to Amy. "Looks like we picked the wrong girl for you to target."

Amy saw this as her chance to get back at Max. "Oh but if I recall, Dom likes so you much more."

Max's grin quickly turned into a scowl as she huffed, "What did I tell you Bradshaw…th-,"

"That's not how you roll…yes, I know!" Amy finished with a grin of her own.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6  
**

* * *

Scud thought he was surely going to tried to swallow, hoping that the action would convince his salivary glands to kick into action. Unfortunately, his mouth stayed dry, as though he had eaten a handful of sand, foul tasting sand at that. Since the pounding in his head didn't want to stop he decided to try his luck and crawl out of bed. Maybe getting up would help.

He cracked one bleary eye, and swung his feet to the floor. If the sudden increase in both the volume, and frequency, of the pounding were anything to go by, getting up did not seem to be helping. Bracing one hand on the bed, he slowly pushed himself to a standing position. Wobbling slightly on unsteady legs, he staggered slowly towards the bathroom. _Aspirin. Surely aspirin would help._ If only the bathroom wasn't so far away.

"Scud!" _Well that's odd;_ he thought fuzzily, _the banging seems to be calling me by name._ It took a few more moments, followed my a few more annoyed shouts, for his sleep fogged brain to realize that the pounding and voice were coming, not from his head, but the door to his bedroom.

"Scud! Open the damn door already!" It finally penetrated that it was Lucy's voice he was hearing from the other side of the door. Eyeing the distance between himself and the two doorways, he decided to go let Lucy in. It was closer, and maybe she would take pity on him and get the aspirin from the bathroom. He didn't think he was up to facing the child safety cap in his current condition anyway.

Stumbling over to the door he braced one hand on the door jamb to steady himself, and finally pulled the door open. Standing on the other side, looking entirely too cheerful in his opinion, stood Lucy.

"Christ Scud, took you long enough. Did you just wake up? You know we have that meeting later right? I thought you'd be up by now obsessing over all the things that could go wrong that probably won't." Lucy fired the words in rapid succession, almost faster then he could process.

"Hey Lucy," Scud managed to croak out. "And yeah, I did, and no I haven't forgotten." Although, if he had to be completely honest, he would concede that the meeting had slipped his mind, it was far to jumbled for him to remember anything clearly at the moment. "What do you want?" He accused, swaying forward slightly.

"Jesus!" Lucy recoiled, drawing herself back protectively. "Did something crawl into your mouth and die? You look like shit."

"Thanks. Look if you want something come on in, I need aspirin." Scud turned and staggered back into the room, leaving Lucy to follow if she wanted. He felt a gentle shove between his shoulder blades; the slight disruption to his already tenuous balance almost sent him tumbling face first onto the floor.

"Sit. You really do look like shit. I'll get your aspirin." Hearing the sympathy in her voice, Scud decided he didn't really want to see just how bad he looked. Lucy was many things, but nurturing wasn't typically one of them.

"Bless you." Scud collapsed onto the bed in a boneless heap, relieved that he didn't have to make the seemingly insurmountable journey to the bathroom and back. He placed his arm over his eyes, hoping to block out some of the harsh morning light.

"You really can't hold your liquor for shit, can you?" Scud heard Lucy shout. Dropping his arm, and cracking one eye a sliver, he looked towards the bathroom.

"What are you talking about? I didn't drink last night, I was working." He saw Lucy's head pop out from around the door jam. She sent him a slightly puzzled look.

"Um…yeah, ya did. Either that or your evil twin was there having the time of his life." Lucy's head ducked out of view, followed by the sound of the water tap being turned on, then off. Seconds later, she appeared in the doorway and walked over to stand bedside the bed, holding a glass of water in one hand, and some small white tablets in the other.

Reaching for the contents gratefully, Scud popped the pills into his mouth and chased them with a large swallow of water. Lucy thumped him on the back when he immediately went into a coughing fit, the pills seemingly stuck halfway down his throat. After a few seconds the spasms subsided, and he was able to take a second swallow to help wash the pills down.

"Lucy, I think I would know if I had been drinking." Scud reasoned. "I didn't go near the bar all night. The only thing I had was..." Scud trailed off as his thoughts went back to the previous evening. The pieces slowly falling into place. "I'll kill her!"

"Kill who?" Lucy asked, although she already knew. Not an evil twin, but close enough.

"Dom! That's who. The person that brought me my 'non-alcoholic' drinks all night. I was wondering why she was being so nice, offering to go get me my drinks from the bar."

"How could you not notice the difference? You were really wasted; those drinks had to have been pretty strong." Lucy laughed.

"Well I thought something was up with the first one. But then I concentrated on the race and didn't really notice. Every time I turned around another one was waiting for me, and I really didn't give it much thought." Scud crossed his arms across his chest, thoroughly disgruntled. "I honestly didn't think my sister would slip me a mickey!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Don't be so melodramatic. She probably just wanted you to loosen up a bit." Lucy laughed again. "And believe me, you did."

Scud eyed her suspiciously. "What are you talking about? I don't remember doing anything odd." Scud stopped, and thought for a moment. "Actually, I don't seem to remember much of anything after the race."

"Well, just take my word for it, you had a good time." Lucy chuckled slightly and pat him on the shoulder. "Reminded me of the good old days...you know, before you got that massive stick shoved up your ass."

"Well someone has to be the responsible one around here, ya know?" Scud told her as he caught the eye roll that Lucy had just given him. Deciding it would be better not to dwell too much on just what Lucy meant by that, he opted to change the subject. "What are you doing here anyway?" Scud looked on, noting the change in her demeanor and the slight flush working its way up Lucy's neck.

"Um, well. I was just wondering if the Tungsten had gotten delivered for repair yet." Scud sighed. He should have known. Bradshaw. Everything lately seemed to lead back to that bothersome, blonde, D.E.B.

"Why are you asking me?" Scud hedged, the irritation plain in his voice. "Isn't dealing with the cars supposed to be Dom's area?" He swallowed convulsively when Lucy shot an annoyed glare in his direction.

"Yes it is, but Dom hasn't found her way home yet. So I thought that maybe you would know, you usually do."

"Figures." Scud muttered. Leave it to Dom to not only give him the world's worst hangover, but also stick him with doing her job on top of it. Not wanting to piss Lucy off, because frankly he wasn't sure he could deal with any yelling in his current state, he turned his attention back to her. "No, I don't think the car has been sent over yet, but I'll take care of it. It's only..." Scud looked over at the clock sitting on his nightstand. "Shit! It's almost noon!"

Lucy nodded her head at his revelation of the time. "Don't worry about it; I'm sure Dom will take care of it whenever she decides to show up. You really should get some rest though, you look like death." She tried to look sympathetic, but the smirk that was spread across her face because of Scud's current disposition betrayed her. "Do you want me to have some breakfast sent up?" Scud felt his stomach roil and his salivary glands finally starting to cooperate making his mouth water signaling the urge to hurl at the mere mention of food.

"No. No, I'm fine. I think resting for a bit longer would be a good idea though." He shifted higher on his bed and grasped a pillow, snuggling into it.

"Ok, well I'm probably going to be gone when you wake up. If you need me you know how to get in touch." Lucy told him as she headed towards the door.

Wanting nothing more than to sink into oblivion, Scud nevertheless still felt duty bound and sat up, once again regretting that he had. "Wait. Where are you going? You're not going out alone are you?" He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried when Lucy got a predatory gleam in her eyes.

"I've got a date with a D.E.B; she just doesn't know it yet." Lucy replied with a grin. "And no Mom, I won't go alone. I'll see if I can track Dom down before heading over, if not I'll get some of the girls to tag along. Feel better?" Scud flopped back onto the bed, finally surrendering to his body's demand for rest.

"Not really. But I guess it will have to do." Scud watched Lucy head to the door through half-lidded eyes. As she passed through the doorway, and was about to pull the door closed behind her, he called out. "If you talk to Dom, tell her I owe her one." He heard Lucy chuckle slightly, before she pulled the door closed, and left him once again in blessed silence. Well, except for the pounding, apparently not all of it was from Lucy. _Better watch your back Dom._

* * *

"I don't care Frank, just get rid of him. Even after running the competition into a wall, he still managed to lose the damn race and cost me five million dollars. So unless you think you're expendable and I can quit paying your ass to find people to fuck up my money, get rid of the fucker a.s.a.p!" Riley cruised down the freeway with the top down on her new Bentley Azure T; it was her birthday present to herself. She had gotten the car a little over a month ago and she loved it. It had a top speed of 179 m.p.h and an acceleration of 0-60 in 5.2 seconds…she wouldn't stand a chance on a racetrack with this beauty, but that wasn't the point. She looked hot in it and that was the most important thing in a luxury vehicle. She heard the man on the other end of the line fumbling his words trying to explain Bobby's credentials and how he had come highly recommended, but she didn't want to hear it. "I don't care if the President of the United States says he's qualified, he can't drive for shit and I want you to get rid of him now!" She yelled into the phone. "And find out just who the hell those two chicks are that are running with the Reynolds now."

She listened to her second in command on the other end of the line. "Yeah jackass, the one who kicked Bobby's ass and the other one, the blonde, is her partner." Riley thought back to 'the other one' and her mouth formed into a tight line, remembering how Lucy had willingly let that blonde bimbo drag her away when she approached. "I've seen them a few times on the racing circuit and they're good. So I want to know why you couldn't manage to get them on the payroll instead of that over confident beef stick you got me. And find out just what Lucy's plans are where they are concerned, maybe we can steer them in our direction, we need good drivers now, it's time we make our presence known in this town." After hearing a 'yes boss' on the other end of the line, Riley finished her call and flipped the phone closed.

She smiled widely as her hair whisked in the wind and thought about just how good Lucy had looked last night. Although it had been years since she'd last seen her, she still managed to make her heart skip a beat with just one look. Smiling wider from the undoubtedly jealous glint in Lucy's eyes when she'd seen her talking with...whatever her name was the previous night, she gripped the steering wheel tighter and floored the gas pedal.

As she navigated the car through the winding s-curves of the road she let her mind drift back to some of her earliest memories of this now well traveled ride. When she and Lucy had first gotten together, they knew that they would have to hide the fact from both of their father's. Not wanting to be constantly looking over their shoulders watching for spies from either organization, they had set out to find a more secluded spot to spend time together. That, plus being young and in love made it that much more exhilarating for them, sneaking off just to be together. It was like they were a modern-day Romeo and Juliet Riley thought with a smile on her face, _except for the whole fucked up suicide thing_.

Because driving was a passion for both of them, and the way they had met, they would often just jump in their cars and race along some of the back roads until they found some nice deserted spot to pull off and just be together. It was on one of those drives that they found the spot that she was now headed towards. After its discovery and spending so much private time there, it had become a favorite spot and they had returned there often.

The excitement of the racing, and the fact that it was forbidden made everything that much more intense between the two when they did finally arrived. After enough visits and plenty of christening, they had deemed it "their spot". Since the road up was full of winding curves, they would always meet at the base of hill that led up to a bluff overlooking the ocean, which was their final destination, and race each other to the top.

After seeing Lucy again last night, she had felt the need to come out here today and remember the good times between them. While she wasn't a stranger to the spot, she tried to limit the amount of time she spent there since it inevitably brought up memories that would leave her dwelling on a past that she couldn't change. But with Lucy's reappearance and her subsequent reaction, Riley had hope that perhaps they could, if not pick up where they left off, at least have some kind of future together.

Now that their fathers were no longer in the picture, the biggest obstacle to their being together had been removed. The only possible problem now was that annoying blonde from the night before, the one that Lucy had reacted far too fondly to. Riley well recognized the looks that Lucy was sending the other girls way, as well as the meaning behind them. She should after all; she had been on the receiving end of enough of them in the past. It was her plan to be the recipient of them again, and soon if she had her way.

* * *

Max sat up abruptly, wielding a revolver in each hand. She groggily looked around, swearing she heard her name being called. She listened for a few more seconds as she warily darted her eyes around the room, _maybe it was a dream. _Not hearing anything, she took a quick peek at the nightstand and saw that it was still too early for her to be up. There was still a little over an hour before she had to get ready for work. She sighed and relaxed her grip on her guns, slowly sinking back into her pillow and closing her eyes tightly. After a few more moments of silence, she heard her name being called again followed by a knock on the door. She sat back up and violently threw her comforter back, got out of bed and stalked to the door.

Janet raised her arm, preparing to knock again. She stopped mid-air and jumped, letting out a startled squeak as the door was flung open. "This had better be good." Janet swallowed nervously when confronted with a very pissed off looking Max.

"Um, I was wondering if I could speak to you and Amy in the living room." Janet thought that Max was going to refuse and slam the door in her face. She was relieved when Max grunted an affirmative reply, and then slammed the door in her face.

After a few minutes, Max padded towards the living room and sluggishly plopped down on the couch next to an equally tired looking Amy. Janet was happy to note that the guns were no longer present.

"Well, I just wanted to get an update on last night's race." Janet cheerily started as she sat down with her laptop in front of her.

Max huffed out, a little more than irritated with these little debriefings Ms. Petrie had subjected them to with Janet on a regular basis. Sensing her partner's irritation, Amy decided to give Janet the cliff notes version of the previous night.

"Well, nothing really happened. Max got invited to race because Lucy's driver had to drop out, she won of course." Amy looked over to see a smug grin on Max's face and shook her head slightly and grinned back before she continued. "It turns out the person she was driving against was Bobby..."

"Oh." Janet squeaked out a little as she began to type furiously on the keypad. "Bobby was there driving for the Schaffer's?" She finally tore her gaze away from the monitor.

"That's what she just said dipshit." Max seethed as she looked at Janet.

Janet scoffed a bit at Max's words before she tried to explain herself. "But I thought he was working the Reynolds case?" Both Amy and Max shrugged at this, not really knowing what the DHS agent's angle was.

Amy nodded and continued, "We really don't know any more about what Bobby was really doing there." A small smile appeared on her face as she thought back to Lucy giving Bobby a well deserved punch, but failed to relay that bit of information to Janet. "He left right after the race and then Lucy had a few meetings with some people, but we weren't able to get any details about them." Amy sighed and looked over at Max wondering if she'd left anything out that was worth telling. Seeing Max shrug, Amy concluded. "And that's about it."

Janet nodded absently as she continued her ministrations on the keypad before finally looking up and closing the lid on her laptop. "Well, maybe Ms. Petrie will know more about what's going on with Bobby and DHS so hopefully I'll have something for you guys in a few days on the matter."

"So are we done here?" Max asked, ready to spring up from the couch and head back to her room.

"Well actually no, there's something I need to discuss with you guys. I've talked with Ms. Petrie." Janet slowly stood and paced back and forth in front of her two former squad mates. "Even though you guys were finally able to penetrate a little deeper into the Reynolds organization with the invite to the race last night, she still thinks you're moving a bit slowly. So she's planting me in the field with you guys." Janet looked between Max and Amy and breathed a sigh of relief at the lack of response she'd gotten. _Well that went over well! _She smiled happily, but her smile faltered a bit when she saw the confused look on Max's face as if she was mulling over something. She looked back to Amy and she seemed to have the same expression plastered on her face as Max, only without the scowl.

"Did you just say that you've been planted in the field with us?" It took Max's still sleep fogged mind a few moments to process what she had just heard. Max moved to the edge of the couch ready to spring up, depending on if what she thought she heard was in fact what she really heard.

"Um, yeah?" Janet nervously fumbled with the collar of the shirt that she wore under her sweater.

"What!" Max went to jump up but was quickly pulled back down by Amy, whose grip was tight and unwavering. Amy always tried to be the voice of reason, and she figured that a little of that would go nicely right about now.

"Ok, so um, just what will you be doing in the field with us?" Amy asked as she looked at Janet, and then took a quick glance at Max to make sure she wasn't on the verge of a melt down.

"Oh Amy, I swear it won't interfere with anything you two are doing, or at least it shouldn't anyway." Janet looked between the two again. "I'll just be an extra pair of eyes for you guys…you know, to watch your back. The Reynolds' are a dangerous group and you never know when you're going to need another pair of trained eyes around." Janet looked pleadingly at Max, trying to reason.

Max stood up abruptly, pulling herself out of Amy's grip and menacingly glared at Janet. "You don't even have your stripes, why the hell would Ms. Petrie put you in the field with us?" Max crossed her arms across her chest, looking every bit of the authority figure she always portrayed.

Janet's eyes darted back and forth between Max and Amy, hoping she would be able to convince them that this was a good idea. Once again finding her dress attire a little more interesting, Janet began fidgeting with her skirt as she picked at invisible foreign objects on it. "Well, we just both think that this will be the perfect opportunity for me to prove myself and finally earn my stripes. Since someone didn't deem me worthy of them in the academy." Janet snapped her head up and shot Max an accusing glance as she spoke the last sentence.

Max dropped her arms to her side and rolled her eyes at the comment, "Whatever. I call em' like I see em'. You being in the café as a waitress was bad enough but if Ms. Petrie approved this then she's as delusional as you are for thinking you'll be a productive addition to this mission."

Janet visibly winced at Max's words, which Amy noticed and immediately felt a twinge of sympathy. Yeah, Janet was a bit cautious and for lack of a better word, bumbling, but she was all heart and at times a great voice of reason. Just because she and Max were complete polar opposites didn't mean that she wasn't a good agent, it just meant that she didn't exactly get the job done according to Max's rules…which in Max's world, was the only way.

Amy looked at Max, not really knowing how to diffuse the situation, but she figured she needed to at least try. "I guess it wouldn't be so bad to have Janet in the field with us. I mean it wouldn't hurt to have an extra pair of eyes with an organization of _this_ magnitude." Noticing the protest that was about to come from Max Amy continued before she could interrupt. "Plus since she already technically works with us, being in the café and all, it wouldn't be too hard to explain why she would be hanging around. After all, how far fetched is it that people who work together form some type of bond and hang out outside the work place." Amy finished with an innocent shrug and smile in place, hoping that Max would buy it. After all, even if she thought it was a bit far fetched of an idea, if Ms. Petrie authorized it, then there was nothing they could do but go along with it.

"Whatever Bradshaw, I still don't think this is right." Max waved her arm towards Janet to emphasize her point. "I think I'll have a little talk with Ms. Petrie to see just what the hell she's thinking."

"No!" Janet yelled frantically. Upon seeing the looks she was getting, she tried again a little more calmly. "No, I mean, you two aren't really suppose to visit the headquarters at this point. You could be followed, and then your cover could be blown and the mission would be a bust and I won't have another opportunity like this to get my stripes." Janet rushed, remembering to breathe when she finished her statement.

"She's right Max, we can't go to Ms. Petrie now and I don't even think Mr. Phipps is in contact with her at this point seeing as he's suppose to be undercover as well."

"Great." Max threw her hands up in defeat. "Just what I need, not only are you invading my privacy at home but now you're invading my workspace." Max shook her head in disbelief that she would once again have to work with Janet in the field. Pinning Janet with another glare, she laid out her ground rules. "You'd better stay out of our way, if you're gonna be an extra pair of eyes, then that's all you get to be. Eyes, not mouth…don't interfere with the way we do things." Max pointed in Janet's direction before she folded her arms across her chest again.

Janet squealed with excitement at being given the 'thumbs up' without too much hassle. Just as she was about to voice her excitement about joining them, there was a knock at the door, which caused all three girls to look at each other with matching confused looks.

"That better not be another damn housemate!" Max grumbled as she stood up.

Janet shook her head vigorously causing her pigtails to flail around her head which warranted a reluctant smile from Amy as she watched the younger D.E.B. briskly walk to the door and open it. "Bobby!" Janet said a little too enthusiastically, causing Amy to jump up suddenly at the mention of his name and Max to scowl and head towards the door. Janet's tone suddenly went south when she finally was able to fully take in the sight of Bobby. His nose was swollen and badly bruised and his eyes were slightly blackened underneath. "Oh my god! What happened?" Janet asked as she stepped closer to him trying to assess the damage. She brought her hand up as if to touch his bruised face, but Bobby's bruised ego wouldn't allow it.

He grabbed her hand before she could reach him and tried to put on a suave smile, but it turned into a grimace as the pain shot through his face. "Heh, you should see the other guy." He told her trying to sound as normal as possible, but failing miserably because of the nasal damage. To Bobby's relief, he saw Max approach.

Shoving Janet out of the way, who quickly recovered and stalked past Max with a muttered 'How rude,' Max stood in the doorway with a menacing look on her face. After she took in the state of his appearance Max chuckled, "Looking good there Bobby boy!" Max belted out clearly amused that he looked very uncomfortable and appeared to be in a great deal of pain. "But you have some damn nerve showing up here after that bullshit you pulled last night Matthews," she told him as she poked him in the chest with each word she spoke. "You're lucky _that's_ all that happened to you."

"Max!" Bobby said nervously as he held his hands up in surrender. "Yeah, sorry about that…but you know how it gets in the heat of battle," he finished, dropping his hands back to his side. "No harm, no foul right?" He asked trying his best to look charming, which was completely lost on Max seeing as his face looked like it had been used as a UFC punching bag, on top of the fact that she never liked Bobby anyway.

"Whatever asshole, I mean I did win…again." Max taunted as she turned and walked away. "Your boyfriend's here." Max told Amy as she walked past her, with her trademark strut, on her way back to her room. She vaguely caught Amy yelling back at her that Bobby was not her boyfriend as she slammed her door. If she was lucky she could still salvage another 30 minutes before her alarm went off.

"Hey babe." Amy turned around and looked at a grinning Bobby standing in the doorway looking worse for wear.

Amy tried her best not to roll her eyes at his greeting and blatantly stared at his nose. She figured Lucy may have hurt the poor guy, but she didn't know the petite brunette could pack a punch that would cause _that_ much damage. Trying to stifle a laugh she grabbed the doorknob and leaned against the doorjamb, clearly a sign that she wasn't about to ask her uninvited guest in. "What do you want Bobby?" Annoyance laced her normally pleasant tone.

The tone fell on deaf ears as Bobby started to visibly drool as he took in the state of dress that the blonde was in. She was wearing a pair of short baby blue boxers and white tank top, cut low on the top. Amy scoffed at his gawking and tried again to get his attention. "Bobby! Why are you here?" She asked a little louder.

He broke out of his silent reverie and looked up to meet Amy's narrowed eyes. "Oh, well I just stopped by to apologize for last night. I didn't mean to imply, you know...what it was that I implied about you." Amy relaxed a little, even though she was annoyed at him showing up unannounced and at the fact that he had a hard time accepting that they were over. She thought that it was considerate of him to at least try to make amends for insulting her the previous night, especially since his face looked like a ripened tomato.

"Thanks," she said with a half smile, "but its okay, you really didn't have to come here to tell me that."

"I did." He leaned into the doorway and reached out to take her hand. Amy tensed at the action and tried to pull away, but Bobby's grip was unwavering and she decided to stop her struggle and hope that he'd be done soon. "It was just hard seeing my girlfriend with someone else plastered all over her, even if it was another chick, ya know?"

"Bobby, I'm not your…" Amy was cut off by Bobby.

"Not that I'm against that sort of thing though." He looked at her with a wide grin, causing him to wince in pain. "Because you know, that whole lezzy thing…kinda hot," he said with a wink. Amy rolled her eyes as she once again tried to pull her hand away. "I just know you're not into that sort of thing and that you were only doing your job. I know I probably made it more uncomfortable for you with the way I acted, so I'm sorry." He finally finished and Amy felt him pulling her towards him.

Her eyes widened as she wrapped her mind around what he was he was about to do. _He's going to kiss me!_ Amy quickly placed her free hand against his chest and pulled back. Even if they were still together, with him looking the way he did, there was no way she would allow that face to get near her. "Thanks again Bobby, but I really think you should be going." She watched as his shoulders slumped and he pulled back but still held onto her hand, as if hoping she would change her mind about the kiss. After a few awkward moments of silence, Amy shifted uncomfortably. "I really need to go get ready for work Bobby."

He nodded and reluctantly released her hand. Amy let out a small sigh of relief as she went to close the door, not caring that he still stood there. "Oh!" He exclaimed as he held his hand out to stop the door from closing. "I dropped my car off at the garage this morning, Phipps was there and he said it was okay, said you'd fix it right up for me."

Amy sighed heavily, as if she didn't already have enough to worry about now she had to work on Bobby's car, which by the way, was totally his own fault for trying to slam Max into the wall. "Fine," she told him grudgingly, after all, if Mr. Phipps said it was okay, she couldn't exactly argue with the boss.

"So when do you think you'll have it ready?"

Amy gave him an annoyed look, as if she didn't have anything better to do than make his car a priority. Noticing the look, Bobby quickly explained. "Well, it's not exactly _my_ car you know, and Riley's already pissed at me for losing the race so I figured I needed to have it repaired as soon as possible, to keep my head off the chopping block. You know how testy these criminal types can be."

Amy's interest piqued at the mention of Riley. She shifted a little and gave Bobby a small smile that she knew would turn his brain to mush, at least mushy enough to wade through it a bit. Just as she expected, he grabbed her hand again and had a goofy grin plastered on his damaged face. "So, you're really working for the Schaffer's now?" She tentatively eased into the conversation.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that…it's weird how it happened though."

Amy tilted her head slightly. "Oh, how so?"

"Well as you know, we initially were going after Diamond…"

"Even though you knew the D.E.B.S were on the case." Amy interrupted him.

He looked at her sheepishly. "Well yeah, everyone is after the Reynolds, you know that Amy." She simply nodded, she did know that the Reynolds were on the top of every intelligence agency wanted list. "But out of the blue I was approached by this goon who said he was impressed with my driving and offered me a position in the Schaffer's organization."

Amy's interested rose a bit higher, although Bobby was a good driver, he wasn't good enough to warrant any offers of that class, especially seeing as the Schaffer's had never approached her and Max. "So even though you lost races they still wanted you to drive for them?" Amy asked in disbelief.

Bobby noticed. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, his voice raising an octave. Amy almost laughed as she knew that she'd clearly bruised his ego a little. "I mean I've only lost to Max and that hardly counts…" Bobby stopped, seeing the grimace on Amy's face. "Well I just mean that it doesn't really count since we're on the same side and all." Bobby tried to back pedal giving Amy his most charming smile, but given the current state of his face mostly just made himself look utterly ridiculous.

She only shook her head un-amused, and mentally rolled her eyes at him for his comment, and for that stupid little smile he was wearing. "So," she began tentatively, not really knowing how to approach the next topic without seeming so…interested. "Have you been working closely with Riley?"

At this question, a smug look spread across his face. "Don't worry babe, you know you're the only girl for me." He winked as he moved in a little closer and tugged lightly on her hand. Amy desperately wished he'd let go of her because not only was his hand a little rough and calloused, his palm was starting to sweat a little and it made her cringe with disgust.

"Oh god no." She chuckled a little despite her discomfort with how close he now stood. "That's not what I meant."

"Well what then?" He asked with a confused look, not that it was hard to confuse the meat-head. Amy had always known that while he was a good government agent, he was also as dumb as a box of rocks at times.

"Well I was wondering, since you're in the Schaffer organization and all, or at least close with some of the key players since you hang around them, well I was wondering if you have ever seen Lucy around." Bobby's brow furrowed, letting Amy know that he still didn't get it. She huffed out an irritated breath. Apparently a more blunt approach was called for. "Have you seen Lucy and Riley together?"

Bobby looked as though he was thinking this over in his head. "No, can't say that I've seen Diamond around any. Why?" He looked back at Amy, clearly unaware of her motives. Not that that was surprising since at this point even she wasn't entirely clear on her motives.

"Oh, I was just curious. I just thought that if you had it would give our two agencies something to collaborate on." She gave him a slight smile. "But since you haven't, I guess that's good, we definitely don't need those two getting together." Amy blushed as she said the last, knowing that she meant it in an entirely different manner than Bobby was sure to think.

She really wanted to know was just what the hell was going on with those two. She knew it was something, but she just couldn't quite place it. Done with her questioning and mentally patting herself on the back for getting the answer to the question of whether or not Bobby was working with the Schaffer's, Amy forcibly pulled her hand away from Bobby's. Seeing that he was about to give some sort of protest she pushed him backwards forcing him out of the doorway. "Goodbye Bobby." She told him with finality and slammed the door in his face.

* * *

Lucy leaned in the doorway of the garage and watched the blonde intently. Amy appeared deep in concentration as she held a spray gun in her hand and swiftly applied a thin base coat to the vehicle in front of her. Lucy eyed the shapeless white coveralls that Amy was wearing with a frown of displeasure. As the outfit last night had revealed, Amy had a body meant to be appreciated. While probably practical for her to wear while painting they completely concealed all of the tempting curves she knew were on the blonde's body. Now that Lucy had had a chance to really appreciate the D.E.B.'s body up close and personally she would like to see, and feel, more of it. _Unclothed and in a sweaty heap under me preferably_. _Down girl, patience. _Lucy shook the racy thoughts out of her head, for now anyway.

While she had only met Amy a little over a week ago, she knew that on any other occasion in a matter of a day she'd have whomever she wanted twice over and would have sent them packing by now. So why was it different with this girl? Why was she willing to be so patient? Lucy reassured herself that it was partly because she was a D.E.B., the idea of tasting forbidden fruit was only rewarding if it was indeed forbidden and once she finally attained her goal the thrill would be gone. It had been a long time since she had to put any kind of effort into a woman, and much to her chagrin she was finding that she rather liked the excitement of the chase.

Lucy was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of the air compressor shutting off. A slow grin spread across her face as she noticed that she had finally been spotted and she stood upright. Amy pulled the breathing mask from her face and let it rest on top of her head as a small smile crept across her face.

Setting the spray gun down, she could hear her heart thundering in her ears as she headed towards Lucy. She tried to will it to slow down as she was sure Lucy would be able to hear it as well. "Hey, what are you doing here?" Amy curiously inquired as she stopped in front of the brunette and casually leaned against a table that was nearby.

"Well you did say you wanted to see me again, so I figured the least I could do was oblige you after your partner did so well for me last night." Amy flushed at Lucy's light teasing and the mention of her eagerness from the night before. She decided not to question why Lucy wanted to do _her_ a favor when Max had been the one to do all the work, and instead just reap the benefits. "Plus I heard the best place to get a cheeseburger in town these days was Mr. P's and with being away so long I couldn't resist so some of the girls and I decided to check it out." Lucy resumed her leaning position in the doorway once again and smirked.

Amy envied the coolness the brunette displayed. Here she was, a ball of nerves at seeing Lucy again, and the brunette seemed to be completely at ease. By this point, she figured her comfort level would be somewhat under control when she was around Lucy but on the contrary, every time she saw the other girl, the butterflies in her stomach began to stir, hell, even when she wasn't around and she thought about her, they stirred.

"So um…did you enjoy the race last night?"

Amy thought briefly about her actions from the previous evening and couldn't prevent a light blush from staining her cheeks. While Lucy's popularity with women was hardly a secret she wished that she could have hidden her reaction to it a little bit better. Initially she had been a little cold towards Lucy after the encounter with Riley, but Lucy had made up for that by being very attentive after she got over the initial shock of seeing the girl. Later on though, after the race was finished, Lucy started being more receptive to all of the attention that was being thrown her way by some associates and other women. She knew that some of it had to do with business, but for the most part, she knew that Lucy was just so damn charming that people tended to flock to her. "Yeah, I had a good time. It was definitely a different experience than the street racing that Max and I are used to." She finally said looking over to Lucy with a smile.

Lucy sighed, relieved at seeing the smile that seemed to be genuinely given. Thinking back to her own actions last night, she knew it could have gone either way; Amy actually having a good time, or her thinking she was a complete schizoid. At first, she had been so distracted by Riley that after she'd seen her, she barely paid any attention to the girl that she literally was going out of her way to make fall for her. But after the initial shock wore off, it was all business; she knew that she had to keep up appearances in order to maintain the reputation she had.

That, and to generate business for the high stakes racing circuit she and Dom were trying to establish, which meant that she had little time for the blonde. Then later, when she saw Riley again, leaving with that other girl, something changed in her. She knew that she'd been flighty with Amy at that point, not that she didn't feel bad about it, in fact, it was the reason she was here now, trying to salvage whatever connection they seemed to have, however unlikely. "Well good, I'm glad you did." Lucy told her flashing one of her trademark 'lady-killer' smiles.

Amy turned her head slightly knowing that once again she couldn't keep herself from blushing. She noticed that she'd been doing that a lot whenever Lucy was around and mentally chastised herself for acting like a thirteen year old with a crush. "Thanks for inviting us."

Lucy tilted her head slightly while looking at the girl in front of her, inwardly giving herself a high-five for getting the intended reaction from the blonde. Usually when a girl blushed this much, it meant there was some major crushing going on and Lucy's smile got bigger, along with her ego, if that was possible. "Oh it's no problem, and you have an open invitation so you should definitely drop by more often."

"Will you be there…often?" Amy voice dropped a little in pitch, taking on a flirty edge, which caused Lucy to shiver slightly and swallow hard.

"Probably. This was my first big race since I've been back. I liked the action and winning…plus the _view_ wasn't bad either." Lucy winked at Amy making it obvious what, or who, she'd meant.

"So is that what you're doing? A little site seeing?" Amy joked back.

"Well, that...and you did say that you would work on my battered car."

"Ah so that's the real reason you're here." Amy sounded a little disappointed as she shifted a bit against the table, something Lucy picked up on and smiled at her.

"Well if that's all I wanted I would've gone to see Max first, considering it's going to need some serious work under the hood too, she really fucked my gears." Lucy stated with certainty. "I asked specifically for you and was told that you were probably in the paint bay." Lucy finished as a grin spread across her face.

"Oh? Usually they don't let just anyone back that asks."

"Yeah, well really it was a mere mention of your name and one of the waitresses inserted herself into the conversation and was very insistent that I came back here…I mean, I was planning to anyway because I wanted to see you, but she was oddly fixated on it, she walked away muttering something about making friends or something."

"Why?" _Damn it Janet, so much for keeping a low profile!_ Deep down she was glad Lucy was standing in front of her; she just wished she had been given a little time to prepare herself. All of the images that had been floating around in her brain all morning about last night had suddenly become tangible, with the real live version of the woman now standing in front of her, and damn it she looked even better than she remembered.

"I don't know…maybe she was just being nosey as hell." Lucy said with a puzzled look on her face as if she was really trying to figure the waitress out. Amy couldn't help but chuckle at this seeing as Lucy didn't quite get what she was questioning, she forced herself to avert her attention away from Lucy as her next question came to mind.

"No, I meant if it wasn't about the car then why did you want to see me?" She asked with a grin as she took in the slightly confused look on Lucy's face, she had to admit it was kinda cute. "Or is it that my pool skills were _so_ bad, you decided to take pity and give me another one on one lesson." Amy raised a single brow and a half smile played against her lips as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Ah." Lucy had to chuckle a little at herself as she took in the flirty undertone Amy was throwing at her. Not to be out done, she stuck her hands in her pockets and casually walked up to Amy looking her in the eyes. "No, your pool skills are fine." Lucy side stepped her but turned back around pressing herself slightly against Amy's back and brought her mouth to her ear. "But I'm definitely down with a little one on one," she purred.

Amy opened her eyes, not even realizing that she'd closed them and shuddered, not just from the tone but more from the closeness and the warm breath that tickled her ear. Feeling the warmth that had just engulfed her from behind recede, she slowly turned in time to see a satisfied grin plastered on Lucy's face. Lucy turned around walking even further into the garage, looking around at the cars that were there.

Amy could only stand rooted in place with her eyes transfixed on the brunette that casually walked around as if she had every right to be there. Their gazes locked for what seemed like an eternity and once again she was captivated by the intensity of the chocolate orbs that gazed back at her. Lucy couldn't help but be equally captivated by the baby blues that looked at her, the shyness that she evoked in the girl from just one look was endearing and if she didn't know any better she would almost think that it was genuine.

However, Lucy knew the truth, she had the facts and she knew better than to think anything other than that Amy was just doing her job. Even though she knew that she couldn't trust anything the other girl said or did, she hadn't been able to get Amy off of her mind since they'd met. But she couldn't exactly say that. No, she knew she had to play the game, so in typical Lucy fashion she came up with a scheme to do so.

"Do I really need a reason?" Lucy asked as she turned and once again began walking around the garage. There was Max's Shelby that looked like it had just been finished and was drying, _not bad,_ Lucy thought to herself as she gave the car a once over, resisting the urge to raise the hood. "But… I do have this other car I'd like to bring in for you to look at and possibly customize for me."

"Oh?" Amy's eyes darted back to Lucy, feeling slightly disappointed again but somewhat relieved that she had turned the conversation back around to business. She watched her closely as she continued to look around.

"Yeah." Lucy looked up momentarily and met her gaze, but continued on walking and taking in her surroundings. There was a Mitsubishi Lancer that had been sanded down and was awaiting more preparations. She thought back to a time in Japan when she had drifted one right into a wall. Of course it wasn't her fault; one of the idiots she had been racing against lost control of his car and slammed right into her causing her to hit the wall.

"Ok well, what kind of car is it?" Lucy heard Amy ask as she looked over the car that Amy had been in the process of painting when she came in. She recognized it as the Porsche Carrera GT from last night's race.

Lucy's head whipped in Amy's direction. "Is this the car that jerk from last night was driving?"

"Yeah."

"Why are you working on his shit? Couldn't he have taken it somewhere else?" Lucy walked around the car and came to a stop in front of Amy as she looked back at the car. Lucy knew that Riley had backed the jerk in the race, and more than likely this was her car, so she wondered why the hell they had opted to bring it here for repairs. She knew that Riley had other people who could have easily taken care of this. It made her blood boil a little, she didn't want Bobby, and she sure as hell didn't want Riley anywhere near her girl. _Her girl, what the fuck? _Lucy was brought back to earth as Amy began to speak.

"Yeah, I suppose he could have, but he didn't." Amy was becoming a little aggravated at Lucy's accusing tone, especially after some of the stuff she had pulled last night. I mean who was she to tell her what jobs she could or couldn't take.

However, Lucy was more focused on the fact that the guy that she'd punched out the night before was now getting special treatment from the girl she'd done it for, and she didn't like the defensive tone that Amy had adopted. Lucy struggled to keep her own temper in check as she looked at Amy.

After seeing the frown form on Lucy's face, Amy realized that what she said probably came out a bit harsh, so she back pedaled a little. "I mean Bobby's a jerk yeah, but it's just business for the garage, and he's friends with the owner, so I couldn't exactly say no."

"Right." It was a short and simple word, but the way Lucy said it, managed to infuse it with a healthy dose of skepticism. Amy felt a tinge of guilt as she watched Lucy run her right hand through her dark locks and noticed the bruises that had formed on her battered knuckles. After all, Lucy had given Bobby a much deserved punch to the nose in her defense, so she could see why Lucy would be taken aback by the fact that she would now be working on his car. Amy sighed slightly and couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at the thought that she and Lucy had just had their "first fight", and they weren't even dating! Deciding to diffuse the situation, before it got out of hand, she reached over and took Lucy's hand in hers and carefully brushed her thumb across her knuckles, an unconscious act that Amy was surprised to find herself doing.

"Does it still hurt?" She spoke softly as she looked down at the hand she was now caressing.

Lucy shrugged nonchalantly. "It's okay I guess." Lucy remained firm in her apprehension of the explanation that had just been given to her. She knew that Bobby was D.H.S., and she figured it couldn't be a coincidence that both agencies had appeared on the scene at approximately the same time. It was also ironic that both the D.E.B.S and D.H.S. had managed to find the exact same way to attempt an infiltration. To her mind, there had to be some kind of inter-agency collaboration at play here. Which meant that Amy and Bobby could be working together, and also very well be together, after all, why would he get so upset over seeing Amy with her last night if they weren't?

Lucy watched as Amy brought her hand up to her mouth and slowly brushed her lips across it before she planted an affectionate kiss on her knuckles. "Better?" Amy asked, raising her head up to look in Lucy's eyes. Amy smirked slightly when she rendered the dark-haired beauty speechless. It leveled the playing field knowing that she could manage to affect Lucy as much and she did her.

Unable to form any intelligible speech, Lucy cursed inwardly for not being able to stay mad and merely nodded slowly in response. This was definitely not what she had in mind. After several swallows she managed to find her voice. "So um, about my car…" Lucy quickly walked a few paces away from the tempting blonde and tried to regain her composure.

"Yes, the car…" Amy said with more confidence. She folded her arms and shifted into a more comfortable position against the table she was leaning on. "What kind?"

Lucy frowned slightly at the loss of contact with the blonde but pressed on. "Nissan Skyline." Lucy grinned broadly as saw Amy's confused expression.

"Wait…those are illegal in the U.S., I don't know if I could, Mr. P probably wouldn't even allow it in the shop."

"Haven't you ever done anything you're not supposed to do?" Lucy said with mischief lacing her voice as she sashayed over and planted herself in front of Amy once again, grin firmly in place.

Taking in Lucy's flirtatious tone and looking into those sinfully enticing eyes, Amy once again felt inferior in the game of seduction that she and Lucy seemed to be playing. She shifted against the table and planted a hand firmly against it in an attempt to stabilize herself and to keep from crashing to the floor on suddenly weak legs. Wanting to avoid the question at hand, she answered Lucy's question with one of her own. "How did you manage to get one here?"

Noticing every move the blonde made, Lucy couldn't help but feel encouraged as she took in Amy's flustered appearance. She reached up with both hands and pulled the breathing mask off of Amy's head, placing it on the table. She smiled when her blonde locks fell free and framed her face, giving that whole clichéd phrase "looks like an angel", a whole new meaning to her as she moved closer and stared at her. "Well I haven't…not yet anyway." Since the day they'd met she knew she had affected the girl in the way that she intended. However, she did not count on being quite so affected herself. Of course she chalked it up to 'playing the game', but every time she felt herself drawn in by the tantalizing pools of blue that now held her captive she wasn't so sure.

Amy reached up with her free hand; the other still planted against the table, and tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear. Noticing how close Lucy now was she had to swallow several times before she could speak. "When will you have it?"

"I take that as a yes." Lucy smiled approvingly, leaning in a little bit closer.

Feeling the heat radiating from the closeness, Lucy's face was now mere inches from hers. "Yes." Amy agreed breathlessly as she looked into Lucy's eyes. _Oh god she's going to kiss me_. Amy knew what was about to happen, and knew no one was there to stop it this time. She felt powerless to stop it herself, or more accurately, she didn't want to stop it. All she could do was stand there with an intense sense of anticipation as she watched Lucy's every move.

Reaching up and cupping Amy's cheek, Lucy softly brushed her lips against Amy's, tentatively testing the water. The light contact was enough to send Amy's mind spiraling into a pool of desire. Thinking nothing of consequences, she reached up and grabbed the nape of Lucy's neck and closed what little distance still remained. Their lips met with a rising urgency as Amy fingers coiled around the dark tresses at Lucy's neck, trying to pull her even closer.

Lucy held Amy's hips with a bruising grip as she slowly guided her backwards a short distance until Amy's back was against the wall. She covered the last bit of space between them and pressed her body full length against the other girl. Lucy felt Amy release the grip she had on her hair. She worried briefly that the other girl wanted to stop, and pulled back slightly to look into her eyes. Before she could ask if everything was alright, she felt Amy's arms wrap around her neck and pull her forward once more until their lips met in another kiss.

Removing one hand from Amy's hip, Lucy flattened it against the wall above Amy's head and pulled back slightly from the kiss trying to catch her breath. Before Amy could protest, Lucy immediately began peppering languid, sensual kisses on her lips; as she slowly alternated their head angles, Amy could only follow as she moaned her approval. Hearing the soft moans she elicited from the girl, Lucy brushed her tongue against Amy's bottom lip. Deepening the kiss, Lucy slid her tongue past Amy's parted lips, searching for hers. Without hesitation, Amy gave the raven-haired beauty what she was seeking and slid her tongue around Lucy's as her hand once again found its way into Lucy's hair. Removing her hand from the wall and once again grabbing onto Amy's hips with both hands, Lucy pulled her forward into her own hips and slipped her thigh between Amy's legs. The friction that it caused elicited a moan from Amy, which Lucy drank down with urgency.

Hearing the door from the garage next door slam Amy was jolted out of her state of desire and reluctantly broke the kiss. With their eyes closed in an attempt to calm themselves, both girls stood there with their chests heaving as they panted for the air that now rushed into their lungs. Disentangling herself, Amy grudgingly pressed her hands against Lucy's upper chest, applying light pressure to push her away. As their eyes met, a frown made its way across Lucy's face, causing a shy smile to spread across Amy's.

Saying nothing, Lucy moved in for another kiss, but before she could make contact Amy sidestepped her; her smile grew wider as she heard Lucy groan in disappointment. It wasn't that she wanted to turn her away; she wanted nothing more than to feel Lucy's lips pressed against hers again. However, she knew that the door slam likely meant Max had exited the garage she was working in and was probably on her way over, and she certainly didn't want Max walking in on her and Lucy kissing. Amy took a steadying breath and turned away from the other girl, headed back towards her work table.

"Go out with me." Amy whipped around not really sure she'd heard Lucy correctly. Lucy moved towards her with one of her confident grins firmly in place, though Amy was secretly pleased that she still sounded just a bit out of breath.

"What?"

"You heard me, go out with me." Lucy hadn't meant for it to sound so demanding, but she wasn't really used to having to ask for anything either. Amy tilted her head a little and went to open her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the garage door being flung open.

"Hey Bradshaw, is my ride ready yet?" Max's voice filled the garage. Rounding the corner of one of the cars she came to a sudden stop, a carefully blank mask falling over her features after a brief moment of surprise. "Didn't know you had company." Max said as she walked over to her car and knelt down to look at where the damaged had been. "Looks good." She sent a rare approving smile in Amy's direction.

"Thanks." Amy smiled back. "But it still needs a couple more hours to dry."

Max nodded as she walked around the car to check out the other side. In taking a few moments to look over her car, Max failed to notice the silent exchange that was going on between Lucy and Amy as they stood there staring at each other. Lucy leaned against the table that was near and folded her arms across her chest as she gave Amy a wink. She got the desired effect when she saw Amy stifle laughter while turning her head to hide the blush that was working its way up her face.

With another approving nod, Max stood back up. "So Diamond, how's the hand?" Max looked over at Lucy, and saw that her eyes were glued to Amy. Max looked over at her partner, who met her gaze and gave her a 'what' look. Max decided something was definitely going on and made a note to ask Amy about it at the first opportunity.

"Well." Lucy answered looking over at Max. "It's functional." She flexed it a few times, as if trying to test it out. Max noted that there was still some swelling and discoloration on the knuckles and figured, from past experience, that it must still hurt like a bitch.

"Well, that probably means you didn't hit that fucker hard enough." Max replied with a grin.

Lucy could only laugh at Max's statement; punching Bobby wasn't the only thing that came to mind in lieu of recent events. Breaking her "no killing" principle looked better and better as far as the D.H.S. agent was concerned. "Right, tell that to his broken nose." Lucy replied smugly, and then decided to change the subject. "That was a pretty impressive show you put on last night. I think that you single-handedly boosted interest in my high stakes racing endeavor."

"Well I'm glad my last minute entrance proved lucrative to your business. Besides, that was a sweet ride, handles like a stallion." Max folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the wall. "By the way, my bad about wrecking your shit but Bobby started it." Amy only shook her head at her partner's childish excuse.

"Yes well, Bobby is hopefully old news." Lucy looked to Amy who returned her gaze and absently chewed on her bottom lip, something that Lucy had grown rather fond of. It made her look innocent and seductive at the same time. _Is that possible? _"What I'm really getting at here though, is you should drive for me Brewer, full-time."

Max pushed herself off the wall and looked at Lucy, a look of astonishment briefly visible on her face. The last thing she had expected was an offer this soon after their initial meeting. Reeling it in a bit, Max tried to play it cool. "Last night was a one time deal Diamond. And if last night's race was any indication on what being a driver for you is like then I'm gonna have to pass. Need I remind you that fucker tried to make me road kill."

"Well it was an anything goes race Max, which you fully took advantage of, need I remind you." She gave a pointed look at the Carrera. "Besides, something tells me Bobby had ulterior motives in wanting to win that race." This time her pointed look was directed at Amy.

"Well I don't know." Max hedged as she looked to Amy. "Amy and I are a team and I would have to talk it over with her first."

Amy looked at Max and smiled at the considerate notion she just offered to Lucy, however, she knew that Max wanted to jump at the offer but was just playing it cool. After all, this is what they were trying to achieve, getting close enough to Lucy to bring down her and her organization. Amy's smile faltered a little when she thought of it that way, even though she knew Lucy was just another assignment; she couldn't help but think that there was something more between them, especially after that heated kiss they just shared. Feeling the guilt beginning to rise, Amy paced a little as her heart began to beat faster.

"Fair enough, but I can assure you that you won't have to worry about Amy. I won't have any trouble finding room for her in my organization." Lucy replied with her voice heavily laced with innuendo.

Amy snapped her attention back to Lucy with a slight frown wondering just what that meant. However, Max took the words out of her mouth.

"Oh yeah, doing what?" Though Max had a pretty good idea just what the brunette had been implying.

Lucy turned her attention back to Amy. "Well I'm waiting for Amy to answer my question and then we can go from there." Amy tilted her head slightly, un-amused, but not unopposed to what Lucy may have been implying. Both Lucy and Max now looked at Amy expectantly.

"What question?" Max asked not liking being the only one not knowing what was going on.

"Um…Lucy asked me to paint a car for her." Amy knew the question that Lucy really wanted her to answer, but that was definitely a conversation she didn't want to have in front of Max.

"Oh, what kind of car?" Max asked now clearly interested seeing as they were talking her language.

Lucy chuckled a little at Amy's explanation, knowing she'd already agreed to that. "It's a Nissan Skyline. 590 horsepower, 430 ft-lbs torque, 0-60 in 3.3 sec with a top speed of 199 miles per hour." Lucy said finally taking her gaze away from Amy and looked at Max. "Actually, it's been banned from the racing scene because it's so dominating and powerful, it killed the competition. I got acquainted with one when I was in Japan."

"How the hell did you manage to get your hands on one of those, they're illegal in the U.S." Max stated matter-of-factly as she looked to Amy and then back at Lucy.

"So I've been told." Lucy said amused, looking back at the blonde. "I think the only crime would be to _not_ own one and I'm sure you can see the appeal." Suddenly an idea came to her, something that would put the goody-two-shoes to the test to see just how far they would go to keep their cover. "In fact, if you two are up to it, I could use your help in adding this car to my collection."

"I definitely can see the appeal in driving one of those bad boys, but what'd you have in mind?" Max's tone was strictly professional, in all her years of training and dealing with criminals she knew what Lucy was implying and she knew this could be a chance to finally nail her with something. She knew she had to play the game, and if she also got to drive a Skyline that would definitely be an added bonus.

Looking down and checking her watch, Lucy knew she didn't have a lot of time to go over her plan in detail at this particular moment, Scud had set up a meeting with the CEO's of the two Wilmington refineries to discuss acquiring the remaining properties and she knew she had to get going. _Business before pleasure_, she thought with frustration as she looked back up and saw Amy staring at her. "I'd love to stay and discuss this matter further, however, I have a more pressing issue at the moment…but how about I come back later when you guys get off and we can talk about it." Lucy offered.

Max looked over at Amy who simply shrugged in agreement. "Yeah, fine." Max accepted, though she was clearly not please about the blow off.

"Ok cool." Lucy turned to leave, but not before gracing Amy with another heart-pounding smile. "Oh, and Brewer?" Lucy stopped in the doorway. "We still need to discuss your driving for me; perhaps you'll have your mind made up by tonight." With that said Lucy walked out the door.

"I take it she's not used to people telling her no." Max said coming to a stand by Amy.

"I guess not." Amy sighed as her mind wandered back to her and Lucy kissing, she couldn't help but smile.

"She's probably gonna ask us to help her smuggle that Skyline in the U.S or something, if so, that'll definitely be something we can add to her rap sheet."

That got Amy's attention and she frowned slightly. "For what, owning an illegal car? That's not exactly the crime of the century." She was a little irritated by Max's comments, and not exactly sure why.

"Well yeah, plus larceny, grand theft auto, smuggling…hello, are you a government agent or what?" It was a rhetorical question seeing as Max was strictly business at the moment. "So the plan seems to be going good huh, I mean Lucy is already showing up to see you. Do you see her taking the bait fairly soon? The sooner the better, I can't wait to finally nail Diamond."

Amy couldn't help but feel a tinge of guilt and disgust at the word 'bait'. She definitely knew that Lucy was interested, and _pretending_ that she was interested in return was proving to not be difficult at all. She couldn't help but get a sickening feeling in her stomach at the thought of trying to trick Lucy into feeding her incriminating information. "Well I'm not so sure that I should move forward with this little scheme of "whoring" myself out to Lucy. Do you really think she's that shallow?" Amy thought that somehow she'd be able to pull herself out of the situation before it went any further and got out of hand.

"Um, yeah, yeah I do…and with your little display last night I think we both know that you've decided to move forward with the plan." Max said in a definitive tone. "Oh, and I guess we should go ahead and agree to what she wants…I'll agree to drive for her, but only after we see what she's up to with that car, which you'll be agreeing to paint."

Remembering the tension in the room when she had walked in Max decided to find out what had been going on. "You guys seemed a little...tense when I came in, you weren't giving her a hard time about it were you? The last thing we need is for you to piss Diamond off and have her lose interest. Play nice with the suspect Bradshaw; this could be huge for our careers."

Max being so domineering about the situation was definitely getting irritating for Amy, however, she did inwardly admit to a sense of relief that she wasn't going to be pulled from her 'special assignment'. "Aye aye, captain." Amy said mockingly, she just wanted to be done with this conversation. "Is there any other reason you're here? I need to finish Bobby's car." Amy walked over and grabbed her mask and positioned it back on her head.

"I noticed that jerk brought his car back again, what is this like twice in one month that he's brought a car in here? I know D.H.S. can foot the bill for his shit. You know he's just doing this so he can get back in with you…stop being so nice and tell him to fuck off already."

Amy laughed at Max's words. "Well it was Mr. P that told him to bring it by, trust me this was not my choice." She defended herself, but she knew Max was right; she had to stop encouraging him. But could it really be considered encouraging by just not being an ass to a person? Then again Bobby always put his on spin on things, usually making him the winner in the situation. "Besides this one is Riley's, Bobby decided to go ahead and have it fixed before he got his ass handed to him. Which by the way, I've found out that he's definitely working for the Schaffer's, he told me this morning."

"Well shit." Max digested what Amy had just told her for a few moments. "I guess that would explain why he got so pissed at us being at the race last night but at least this way he'll focus on his own mission and stay the hell out of our way." Max chuckled a slightly. "Well out of my way at least, I'm sure he'll still find a way to make his way around you." Max eyed the Carrera to further prove her point.

Amy shook her head knowing that Max was probably right. There was just no way she could get through to Bobby that they were over and done with. She thought back to just how she hadn't gotten herself into her current predicament with him.

They had dated on and off back when she was in the academy, but after Endgame he was sent to New York and they didn't really talk to each other much after that; she couldn't really recall being all broken up about it either. Her team was split up and it just became her and Max doing field assignments for a few years and then he was suddenly stationed back in Los Angeles.

Almost immediately after he arrived he became very persistent in asking Amy out until one day she finally gave in. One date turned into several and before she knew it he started introducing her as his girlfriend, which she just kind of went along with. After all, she could've done a lot worse than dating Bobby Matthews. He was handsome, a good agent, with a good upbringing. However, in the end Amy knew there was no future with Bobby, she just wanted more. Unable to see spending the rest of her life with him, she decided to finally end it. Of course Bobby didn't take the news too well; he started showing up at Amy and Max's place uninvited and calling obsessively, he just wouldn't take a hint. It took an act of Congress, or to be exact, an act of Max finally pulling her revolvers on him and telling him to 'get the fucking point and move on'. Of course, after last night and this morning it was clear that Bobby still had it in his mind that he and Amy would be together again.

Amy pulled her mask down over her face, wanting the distraction that work would bring. "I'll catch you later." She heard Max say right before she turned the air compressor on. Waving bye to Max she got back to work on Bobby's car; the quicker she got it done the quicker he could come get it and leave her alone. Making up her mind, she decided that when he did she would tell him point blank that he really needed to move on and that they would _never_ happen again. Sighing heavily she continued the task at hand while quickly pushing Bobby to the back of her mind.

After all, she would be seeing Lucy a little later on and with that thought, her heart began to beat a little faster and she couldn't help but smile as her mind was now able to drift back, uninterrupted, to the searing kiss they had shared. _Damn Max and her horrible timing_. Oh yeah, this was definitely going to be an interesting meeting tonight.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**AN: Just want to say thank you to those who're still sticking with us on this one. Glad you're enjoying it and more to come!**

* * *

"Hey guys." Dominique entered the office and saw Lucy sitting behind the desk with Scud hanging over the back of her chair, both engrossed in something on the computer monitor in front of them.

Scud slowly stood upright, still being careful not to move too quickly and upset his tenuous equilibrium. He looked pointedly at his watch; it was way past noon. "You know, I can't stress strongly enough how dangerous it is for either of you to be out alone."

Dom took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk and crossed her legs. She grinned mockingly at her brother. "Oh, I wouldn't say I was exactly _alone _now, Scud."

Lucy looked up from the monitor and glanced at Dom. "The red head with the nice rack?" Dom only nodded in response as her grin got wider.

"Nice." Lucy nodded approvingly.

"I swear…" Scud said in a low, tempered tone as he shook his head, immediately regretting it as the room started to spin. He quickly grasped the back of Lucy's chair to steady himself and glared back and forth between Lucy and Dom. His gaze finally rested on Dominique as he fuzzily began to remember a red head from the previous night that he had been pretty cozy with. _Surely she __didn__'t…oh who the hell am I kidding, it's Dom, of __**course**__ she did!_ He narrowed his eyes at her.

"What?" Dominique asked with lazy disinterest sensing her brother's heavy gaze.

Scud decided now wasn't the time to get into another senseless argument with his sister, at least not until his head stopped spinning, and he had a chance to look at the surveillance from the previous night to get all the facts. "Can you two just _please_ not venture out without some kind of backup? I'm sure a _nice rack_ is good for many things but I highly doubt it's bulletproof."

Both girls chuckled at Scud's comment, but Lucy knew he was right. After the death of her father, whom she knew had been very meticulous when it came to security; either of them being careless could end up fatal. With a solemn look, she gave Dominique a quick nod, in agreement with Scud.

Dominique sighed heavily, hating to always have someone underfoot, but she also knew that her brother was right. "Fine," she said with an eye-roll in his direction trying to display some defiance, but the small smile that tugged at her lips betrayed any bitterness in her tone.

Lucy had already lost so much already, with the recent death of her father, both her parents were gone. Scud and Dominique were now all the family she had left and she didn't know what she would do if she lost either of them. As a sister, albeit not by blood, but genetics never mattered where they were concerned, and as head of the family, she knew it was now her responsibility to keep them both safe.

This brought her to the decision that they finally needed to discuss the specifics of her father's death, something she had avoided since it happened. She knew Scud had looked into the circumstances of the murder, along with the local authorities, but she didn't put much faith in them finding out anything or even think they were putting much effort into it. They probably saw it as just another thug in a suit they didn't have to worry about any more.

"Speaking of security," Lucy cleared her throat, still not entirely comfortable with this particular topic, "I need to know what you've found out about the breach that led to my father's death."

While the majority of the details surrounding Lorenzo's death remained unclear, one thing that was not in doubt was that someone must have breached his formidable security. Always one to exercise caution and minimize risk when it came to his personal safety, his obsession with security had only increased when he married and Lucy was born. Immediately after his death, Lucy had been in such a state of shock that she hadn't really hunted for the details surrounding his demise. Now however, she was more than ready, almost anxious, to find out how someone could have gotten to him. After all if they could do it to Lorenzo, they could do it to her.

"Well it's been a lot of dead ends." Scud's voice was laced with frustration. Lorenzo had been like a father to him as well, "As you can imagine, most of the likely suspects are none too eager to talk about it." In the days before Lorenzo's death the only event of any significance had been a meeting that he had hosted at the house. "There was a gathering a few days before with most of the heads of the various families, all familiar. Several days later, while out on a drive, Lorenzo's car suddenly exploded."

Lucy shifted uncomfortably and Scud sighed and ran a hand over his face before he continued. "An investigation of the wreckage and the site easily determined that an explosive device had been planted on the car. A sweep of the garage revealed that no other vehicles were planted with anything. So it's almost as if he was directed to this one particular vehicle, and with the driver dead as well, we can't very well ask him about it. So, this comes down to basically two scenarios; either the meeting provided the cover for someone to go in and plant the explosives, or someone whose always had time and access to the compound and the garage planted them. If it was the latter then it was an inside job, meaning..."

"Meaning we have a fucking traitor in the ranks." Dominique finished Scud's sentence through gritted teeth. "Shit! You can't trust anyone nowadays."

"Or..." Lucy finally spoke up. "It's both, and we have a traitor that's working for another family or someone from another family could've planted the explosive but someone whose familiar with our security system had to have given them access. So either way you look at it, we have a traitor in the family." Lucy's tone was cold and her gaze was steely.

Scud nodded at Lucy's revelation, it was something that he had already considered; which was why many of the guys that he considered "tech heads" in the family no longer had full authorization to higher levels of security for the compound and were under heavy surveillance. Even the guys that washed the cars were suspects; after all they did have access. Only the guys that he trusted on a personal level and had actually been with him and the girls while they were in Japan had any significant authority or clearance to top levels of security anymore.

"So the only thing we're fairly certain about is that the explosives were planted during this meeting." It was more a statement than a question that Dominique posed.

Scud nodded in the affirmative. "I'm almost certain of it, it would serve to cast suspicion on every family and representative that was there." The party that had been held at the estate a mere few days before the accident certainly provided the most probable when. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the guest list, virtually everyone was a suspect. Finding out who had actually contracted and carried out the hit was like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack.

"Or the night before after he'd gotten in," Lucy's tone was still hard but now she had a far away look in her eyes.

Once again Scud nodded, "Yeah, either the night before or the day of. I've gone through the surveillance from the garage and the only one that entered was your dad's regular driver who simply wiped the cars down and then promptly left. There was no more activity in there until the day it happened."

"So everyone's been questioned?" Dominique felt the need to ask a question she already knew the answer to, seeing Scud nod she continued. "And we don't have _any_ leads?" She huffed out, clearly agitated.

Scud shook his head solemnly. Every time he had started a line of inquiry it met an abrupt end, usually in the form of an uncommunicative henchman. As more time wore on it was becoming less and less likely that they would ever find out who had ordered the hit, something that did not sit well with Scud at all.

"Dom I can imagine they aren't jumping up and down at the opportunity to confess to the killing," Lucy smiled thinly, the expression totally devoid of any trace of humor. "Do you find it odd though that no one is pointing fingers either? It seems like some of the smaller families would be more than happy to gain favor."

"Or to save their own necks," Dominique added. "If Lorenzo could be so easily targeted and taken out, then what message would that send to the smaller families?"

"Eh, it could be that they are still waiting to see how it plays out. I mean you are newly minted as the head of the family, Luce, if it turns out that you fail to take command as your dad did, they will have put themselves in quite an uncomfortable position, therefore making them the next target and unprotected by you." Scud hated to point out the obvious, especially knowing that it was likely to piss Lucy off. "The other thing to consider is that the family that ordered the hit is almost as powerful as we are." He watched as Lucy arrived at the conclusion that had been floating around in his head almost from the start.

"Old man Schaffer wouldn't have ordered that kind of action. In a way I think he and my dad enjoyed the constant back and forth they had. It was almost a hobby for them."

"I'm not talking about the old man." Scud realized that Lucy hadn't arrived at _quite _the same conclusion. "There is another Schaffer that would have had the connections needed to pull it off. Not to mention that the timing is a bit odd, first your dad is murdered and then a short time later Schaffer follows. It all just seems awfully convenient to not look into it a little more deeply." Scud knew that he was treading on very thin ice but he felt duty bound to point out all of the possibilities.

"Jesus Christ Scud! Now you have her killing not only my father but her own as well." Lucy jumped up from her seat and began to pace in agitation, "Riley may have been driven to succeed, hell so am I, but I know this girl. There is no way she is capable of this."

"I'm not saying that she did it!" Scud retorted hotly. "Lucy, the two of you dated for a long time, and in that time you came to trust her, probably more than you should have considering the situation." Lucy rolled her eyes but Scud didn't care that he was probably adding more fuel to the fire; she needed to keep an open mind. "You gave her access to places that you know you shouldn't have, secret passages that she had no right to navigate through, she could've easily..."

"Look Scud I get it!" Lucy stood up abruptly and angrily, pushing the chair back with force, causing Scud to dodge it to avoid being hit. She just couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that Riley would do something like this. They had been in love, even when things had ended so abruptly it wasn't on bad terms and the love had still been there. She also didn't want to entertain the fact that if indeed Riley was behind this mess, that she would be held just as responsible for her father's murder by allowing Riley to get so close and that was definitely something she wouldn't be able to handle.

Scud stepped around the chair and took a deep breath to calm himself; there was no point in him and Lucy going back and forth heatedly about this. He spoke in a calm tone, "All I am saying is that we shouldn't rule anything out. Besides a lot of time has passed since you knew her, who's to say what she is capable of now?"

Lucy shook her head, not ready for Riley to be suspect #1. "Drop it Scud! Do what you have to find out what actually happened, but I don't want you wasting time and resources on a wild goose chase. There is no way Riley was involved in this, I would bet my life on it." Lucy's tone indicated that the topic was closed.

"You may very well have to," Scud muttered under his breath, low enough so that the still agitated Lucy couldn't hear him. He watched as she walked over to the bar in the corner of the room to pour herself a drink. The conversation had proved just as unpleasant as he had feared, and yet they still weren't any closer to finding out who was responsible.

Wanting to diffuse the situation and fill the eerie silence that now filled the air, Dominique decided a change of subject was in order. "So how did your meeting go?" She spoke to Lucy's back, as the other girl was still engrossed at the bar. She caught her brothers' surprised look, "Yes I do pay attention to more then girls and cars." She noted that Scud at least had the good grace to flush slightly in embarrassment at his astonishment.

Grateful for the subject change and shift in the air from the somber mood, Lucy let out a heavy sigh. "It went well; we were able to convince them to sell, " Lucy told her as she crossed back over to her desk and took her seat. "Money talks," she said with a small smile, grateful for the subject change as well.

"And what about the Schaffer's? Have you decided what we're going to do about them and their little venture over into our territory?" Dominique asked as she took out a cigarette and went to light it but quickly changed her mind as she took in Lucy's expression.

"You know my dad never allowed smoking in here," she said in a quiet tone.

"Right, sorry." Dom said contritely.

"Dom what the hell, do you really think _now_ is the time to bring up you know who?" Scud asked in agitation.

Looking at him pointedly Lucy asked in a quiet voice. "And just why shouldn't she bring up the Schaffer's Scud? You didn't seem to have a problem with bringing up _you who know who_ mere seconds ago. At least she's talking actual business now and not patricide."

Realizing his mistake, he tried to back pedal. "Uh, well...it just seems the Schaffer's seem to be a sore subject at the moment so I just thought we'd...um..." Scud gestured with his hands, trying to find something to finish his rambling, but came up short so he abruptly snapped his mouth shut and then shrugged.

Lucy shook her head and sighed, pausing a moment before she spoke. "I suppose I'm gonna have to set up a meeting with Riley at some point to discuss this…hopefully she'll back down peacefully, but knowing Riley I highly doubt it. After last night I think she has 'bigger' plans in store for her organization but I'm just not sure what."

Scud's eyes widened a bit at Lucy's statement, _wasn__'t that what he was trying to imply a few minutes ago where Riley was concerned? _Scud bit his lip sharply to prevent himself from interjecting his thoughts on the matter again. Why Lucy seemed determined to let past memories, and likely raging hormones, get in the way of her common sense he just didn't know. He would simply have to keep a tight watch on Riley and her organization without Lucy knowing.

Unaware of Scud's turmoil over her statement, Lucy's thoughts of last night prompted images of a certain blonde. She smiled instinctively when she thought of Amy, and her mind instantly drifted to the kiss that they had shared earlier. She vividly remembered how Amy's lips felt pressed against hers and how she had kissed her back with such passion. It was only after she heard Scud clear his throat that she was brought back to earth and saw Dominique staring at her with a puzzled look.

Clearing her own throat, Lucy took the awkward attention off of her. "So, I was thinking..." Lucy looked pointedly at Dominique, "the little pickup that we're doing next week?" Dominique simply nodded.

Scud looked back and forth between the two in confusion. "Pickup? What little pickup?" Scud questioned firmly.

Ignoring him, Lucy continued. "Well I was thinking of bringing our little friends in plaid along for the ride." Lucy waited for Dominique's reaction.

A grin appeared on Dominique's usually stoic face. "A test?" Lucy grinned broadly and nodded enthusiastically, she knew Dom would get what she was aiming for without her really having to give her the full details yet. They were usually always on the same wavelength when it came down to getting into a little trouble. "I'm in."

"Good! We're meeting them later."

"Ok!" Scud yelled slightly. "What are you two up too? What kind of test? Lucy surely you aren't planning a heist that I don't know about! And you're bringing the D.E.B.S along? What the hell is wrong with you two?" His face had flushed red during his little rant and now his breathing was a little ragged. If there was one thing Scud hated, it was being left out of the loop, and he was clearly on the outs with this.

"That's something you need not worry about big bro, this one we'll take care of, everything's under control." Dom assured her brother even though she wasn't exactly up to speed on the particulars. However, she knew that she was just as capable as her brother and Lucy at last minute planning and improvising...after all, she was a Reynolds too.

Scud looked at his sister in disbelief. "When you and Lucy get together in planning stuff, control is all but thrown out the window so I want to know what it is the two of you are doing! And I want to know now!" Scud looked down at Lucy and saw her giving him _that look_ and he hastily added, "Please?"

"Scud, trust me…we have everything under control." Lucy assured him. In actual fact, there were still quite a few details that needed to be worked out. When the plan had occurred to her earlier she had been eager to bounce the idea off Dominique, knowing Scud would shoot it down as too dangerous, but Dom would find the fun in it, but she was confident that she and Dominique could handle it without Scud's input. She'd give Dominique the details about what she had planned before they headed over to meet the D.E.B.S. She was Lucy Diamond, what could possibly go wrong?

As if reading her thoughts, and coming to a radically different conclusion, Scud shook his head and headed toward the door. "When all of this blows up in your faces don't come crying to me!"

* * *

Lucy and Dominique walked into the café with a few of the girls from Pink Thunder, while the rest of the group that accompanied them remained outside. Lucy immediately noticed that the café had double its clientele since her visit a few hours ago. While she supposed it could be attributed to a dinner rush she somehow doubted it. An experienced glance around the room revealed that, although no one seemed to be obviously watching her; most of the people in the small restaurant were agents. The majority sat around with laptops in front of them, barely touched food on their plates, while a few were sitting at the counter nursing coffee cups or water bottles. Lucy chuckled to herself knowing that the D.E.B.S had probably beefed up their security especially for her. _How flattering_.

"Ya know, now would probably be a good time to pull off a heist," Lucy spoke to Dominique in a hushed tone, "it appears half of the D.E.B.S organization is here watching us." Dominique looked around and nodded as she laughed at the overabundance of people idly sitting around. In not finding her quarries, Lucy frowned slightly and took a seat in a booth, Dominique slid onto the bench across from her. Immediately a waitress sporting pigtails and a chipper grin arrived next to the table with a pad in hand. Lucy recognized her from earlier that day and suppressed a groan. D_oes this girl _ever_ leave?_

"Hey, you're back!" The waitress exclaimed far too cheerily for Lucy's liking. She glanced at Dominique, "And you brought a friend. Can I get the two of you anything?" Janet looked expectantly between the two.

Dominique shot Lucy an inquisitive look, but Lucy pointedly ignored her. Seeing that she wasn't going to get an immediate answer to her silent question Dominique ordered. "Coffee, black."

Janet nodded and turned to leave but was suddenly stopped by Lucy. "Actually, there is something…" Before she could finish her sentence the eager waitress had whipped out her order pad and held her pen at the ready. "Is Amy around? We were supposed to meet here after her shift."

"Oh! She was here a few minutes ago, but she and Max went to check to make sure the garages were locked up." If anything the waitress seemed to get more hyper as she relayed the news. "They should be back shortly, I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see you again so soon. Are you sure I can't get you anything? As a friend of Amy's it will be on the house."

"Positive." Lucy said with a polite smile. With a quick nod, Janet turned and left.

"Come here often?" Dominique teased a smile playing across her features as she quirked a brow.

"Well, while you were out _entertaining_ busty redheads for the better part of the day, some of us were actually working." Lucy replied haughtily.

"Right." Dominique smirked giving a slow nod.

Lucy cleared her throat and shifted in her seat at her closest friend's silent scrutiny. "_Right _is right and speaking of _work," _Lucy put special emphasis on the word, "I need for you to make arrangements as soon as possible for our little mission." Deciding to do a little needling of her own she couldn't help but add, "Are you sure you will be able to handle all the logistics without Scud's help?"

"Please," Dom's tone was rife with cocky assurance, "I think I can handle a simple grab and go without help from Scud. Besides, I am sure I have far more experience with this type of thing then Scud _ever _will."

Lucy laughed at her friend's deliberately vague comment. "Yes, I'm sure you do. But we aren't grabbing _your_ usual, so if something goes wrong you aren't going to be able to charm your way into their beds as you usually do."

Dominique grinned in wry acknowledgment. "Don't worry Luce; I'll be more than ready. This thing will go off without a hitch…guaranteed."

* * *

Mr. Phipps stood in front of Amy and Max dressed not in his usual attire of a suit and tie, but in a pair of grease stained denim overalls with a white t-shirt. The ensemble had the effect of making him appear even more burly than usual. "Ok girls we have confirmation that Lucy Diamond and her cohorts have just arrived, whatever it is she's planning remember to take caution and use good judgment because you'll be each other's only backup." His distinctive deep voice rumbled out the command. Max and Amy exchanged glances and gave each other nods.

While Mr. Phipps tended to work from D.E.B.S. headquarters, the decision had been made to place him in the field for this mission. It was mostly at his insistence that he be placed with the girls, and it took some convincing for Ms. Petrie to allow it. Although he was very confident in their subterfuge ability and knew they were exceptional field agents, an operation of this magnitude, where so many people were involved and so many things could go wrong, it had him feeling uneasy about them going in alone. Max and Amy weren't used to having a superior officer this close to their operation, so they were still adjusting a bit. If it had to be anyone though, they were both equally glad that it was Mr. P.

"Ok, Bradshaw you remember the plan right? We don't agree to anything until Lucy tells us something about what she's planning concerning that car. Once we get her to bring us in…which I'm sure you can kinda persuade her to do, then I'll agree to drive for her and once you agree to paint the car we'll get it back here and run the VIN on it."

"Of course I remember Max." Amy replied indignantly. "You've been talking about it all afternoon, will you calm down everything will be fine."

"I know…I just want to be prepared. So, once it's confirmed the vehicle is indeed illegal we can go from there, or better yet, Lucy will go from there I'm assuming. I mean if she's willingly to bring us in on a car heist then we'll be able to infiltrate more incriminating parts of her organization." Max looked over at Mr. P. "Was there anything else you needed to cover with us?"

"No, I don't want to keep our guest waiting any longer…I'll remain in here until the meeting is over just as a precaution. Once you get the when and whereabouts of this mission let me know and I can map out a route so we can strategically place agents around just in case things don't go as you plan."

Amy and Max both knew what he was referring too with that statement. He wanted agents in place just in case an extraction would be needed if for any reason their cover was blown. Both girls turned to walk away. "Oh and D.E.B.S…" They both stopped and turned back, "be careful." They smiled and nodded their understanding at him and watched as he stooped down, got on a creeper and rolled himself under a car.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to at least hear the specials? You might decide you want to order something." Janet pressed on, seemingly determined to get Lucy to order something as she set Dominique's coffee down. If Lucy didn't suspect that the girl was just a tad odd, she would almost think they were trying to slip something into her food.

"No really, I'm fine…and look..." Lucy motioned to the door, "our guests are here." _And not a moment too soon, if I had to listen to you ask if I wanted anything one more time I __wouldn__'t be responsible for my actions. _

Janet looked to the door and saw Amy and Max walking in their direction. "I thought your shift ended already." Max stated flatly as she approached with her usual look of displeasure for Janet.

"Oh well I'm working a double today. I could use the money because there's this _hideous_ couch I need to get rid of and replace in my apartment." Max narrowed her eyes at the other girl's belligerent tone. _Her apartment my ass! _Before she could form a reply Janet turned back to Lucy. "You let me know if you need anything, ok?"

"Right." Lucy answered by rote, her attention now focused on Amy, who looked down at Lucy with a smile and slid into the booth next to her when Lucy patted the bench beside her in invitation, leaving Max to take the seat next to Dom.

"Sorry we're late." Max said as she sat down. "I hope you didn't have to wait too long. And hey, if that waitress was bothering you, let us know. I hate to get people fired but we can't have a nuisance around harassing the customers." When she didn't get a reply from Lucy, she looked towards Dominique, hoping that one of them would speak up, enabling her to get Janet out of at least a part of their daily lives.

"Is this the smoking section?" Dom asked forgoing the pleasantries. She held a cigarette in one hand and her lighter in the other.

"No!" Janet said in a bit of a panic causing everyone to jump slightly and stare at her, thinking that she had already left the area, but sudden reappearance further let clued Max in on the fact that she had been lurking. "I mean no," Janet stated in a calmer tone, "there's absolutely no smoking in here…period." Janet proceeded on her no-smoking tirade as she placed her hands on her hips condescendingly. "I know you've haven't been around for oh, the past decade or so, but if you had been then you'd know that L.A. has a serious ban on smoking."

When Janet finished, she noticed that all occupants at the table had their eyes pointedly fixed on her. Lucy wore a look of amusement. Dominique looked slightly irritated, she needed to light one up; it'd been a long ride from the estate to the little cafe on the edge of town and smoking while riding a motorcycle? Not hardly. Amy's first reaction was to be slightly amused but shock quickly set in as she realized that the girl had made known the little fact that she knew Dominique had not been in the country for quite some time.

Amy knew that if she had caught that, then so would Max. Sparing a peek in her captain's direction, Amy noticed the ever-present scowl that adorned Max's face whenever all-things-Janet were involved, and for the life of her she couldn't figure out how to diffuse the situation. So there Amy sat, speechless, as she watched a fuming Max's.

They were both brought out of their shocked state at the sound of Lucy's voice as she leaned into the table slightly. "How do you know she's been out of the country for that long?" She raised a brow at Janet. At the question, both Amy and Max's faces turned cautious as their brains scrambled for some sort of explanation for their loud-mouthed "waitress".

Janet looked liked a deer caught in headlights for a moment, but quickly recovered, there was no way she was going to give Max the satisfaction of saying she'd once again screwed up, _even though she probably had. _Janet waved an arm in Dominique's direction. "Well look at her!" With that said, everyone turned to look at Dominique, who only flicked her hair over her shoulder and sat back against the seat with a smile and threw an arm over the back of the booth. If everyone wanted to get their jollies off by looking at her, she wasn't going to complain. Janet continued and everyone's attention was once again back on her. "I mean she looks foreign, so I just figured she hadn't been around...I mean if she had then hello! This is a restaurant," she waved her hand around for emphasis, "she would know that restaurants no longer serve burgers with a side of blackened lungs." Janet huffed, but was silently praying that the explanation would do the trick.

Lucy relented and let out a small laugh as she looked back over at Dominique. "You do look a little out of this world," she ribbed.

Dominique let out a slight chuckle. "It just adds to the mystery," she replied with a small wink as she tucked her lighter away, but kept the cigarette. "Chicks dig mystery."

Amy let out a small breath she didn't know she was holding and Max shot an icy glare in Janet's direction that made her turn on her heels and prance off, clearly satisfied with how she had handled herself.

Once Janet was out of sight, the four girls directed their attention back to each other.

"Hi," Amy said with a broad grin directed towards Lucy. In all the Janet induced excitement she realized she had neglected to properly greet the other girl. "Sorry we're late, we had to close up."

"It's cool, we haven't been here long." Lucy's grin mirrored Amy's as they just sat there staring at each other.

"Sooo...Lucy," Max figured she had to get things rolling seeing as Dominique appeared preoccupied as her leg was bouncing, probably because she wanted to smoke and Lucy was clearly in no position to do so because her eyes were glued to the blonde sitting dangerously close to her, practically on her lap, Max noted through narrowed eyes. "What'd you want to talk to us about?"

Being broken out of her trance Lucy turned her attention to Max. "Plenty…for starters, do you have an answer for me?"

Max leisurely sat back against the chair and set about putting her plan into motion. "Well I'm still not sure…we're doing ok with just the circuit races."

Lucy simply chuckled at her words and looked at Dom who took that as her cue. "Well I'm sure the money is good at the circuit but we can triple what you're earning there as you already know...if money is the issue."

"No, money isn't the issue, which is why I don't see what I'd have to gain in doing this."

"Then what exactly is the issue?" Dominique pressed. "We are offering you money and access to some of the world's most elite sports cars. What more do you need?"

"Look I just don't like the idea of racing for anyone other than myself, okay?"

"So you would rather have some false idea of 'freedom', then race for the top outfit on the West Coast." Dom leaned back in her seat and let her hands idly toy with the cigarette she still held. _Damn anti-smoking police._

_"_It's not a false idea!" Max retorted hotly, leaning forward in a confrontational stance. "I race when I want, against who I want, and I certainly don't have to answer to anyone." Max looked in Lucy's direction at that last statement, clearly trying to engage her in the conversation, but once again found Lucy's attention elsewhere.

Lucy took the increasingly heated conversation developing between Dom and Max as her chance to have her own semi-private conversation with Amy. She leaned over and in a hushed tone asked, "And what about you, do you have an answer for me?"

Amy tore her eyes away from her partner and Lucy's second in command. Sometimes she thought that Max forgot that they were playing parts and let her true nature bleed through just a little too much. The same girl that had lectured her about not giving their quarry a hard time was now almost shouting in response to the invitation they had been courting since the start of this mission. Shaking her head slightly she turned her attention to Lucy, finding her a lot more interesting than the conversation going on across the table. Amy leaned in a little closer, "I've already given you an answer." She was mindful to keep her voice low; the last thing she wanted was to attract Max's attention.

"While it's true that anyone can enter the circuit and possibly win, who do you think ultimately controls the circuit?" Dominique challenged Max.

"You, I suppose?" Max scowled, she hated being backed into a corner. A knowing smirk was her only answer. "Is this how you recruit all of your talent, threats?"

Dominique laughed. "I'm not threatening you. I'm simply pointing out the fact that no one is as free to do as they please as they like to think. The only way to really limit other peoples control over your life is to be the one in control. While it's true that you won't be calling the shots, you will be a member of the side that does. Besides I know you liked the whole head-to-head scene, and of course you enjoyed winning. The only way into those races is by sponsorship, and we aren't really interested in a freelance driver. We want someone that is loyal to only us. We only race with the best of the best and it gives you a chance to prove that you are indeed as good as you think you are."

Mindful to the business at hand, Lucy listened to Dom's conversation with a fraction of her attention. She spared a brief glance in their direction but quickly returned her attention to Amy. The blonde presented a much more appealing focus then contract negotiations which were a sure bet. "You know I'm not talking about the car," Lucy's tone was laced with suggestion as she slowly licked her lips.

"Well just what are you talking about then?" Fueled from watching Lucy's tongue darted in and out of her mouth, Amy adopted a teasing tone that elicited an amused grin from Lucy. Deciding to take the bait, she slid closer to Amy making their thighs brush against each other and whispered in her ear. Pulling back slightly, Lucy looked at Amy and gave her a mischievous smile accompanied by a wink, which emitted a hearty laugh from the D.E.B.

Distracted by the laughter, Max turned to look briefly at Amy and noticed that the two seemed to be sitting even closer than before. For a moment, she thought they looked as though something was really going on between them, but shook it off and chalked it up to Amy just being a really good actress. Max then looked back to Dominique and continued on. "As good as I think I am huh? Well it seems you guys think I'm pretty good as well or you wouldn't be here asking me to drive for you," Max retorted, always ready to defend her driving skills.

Unaware of anything going on other than each other, Amy and Lucy continued their own private chat.

"So that's what you have in mind, huh?" Amy asked Lucy in a flirtatious tone. Emboldened by the suggestive comment from the brunette, she reached forward and brushed back a few stray strands of Lucy's bangs that had fallen over her eyes. She found that any obstruction to her being able to see the other girls' eyes was simply unacceptable.

"Yes, but that's not all." Lucy slowly slid her hand around the side of Amy's neck to rest lightly on her nape and pulled her closer. Forgetting that they were in a public place, and surrounded by dozens of agents, Amy felt herself fall into the other girls gaze. Drawn in by the brunette, Amy turned her body towards Lucy, bringing her hand up to cup the side of her face while brushing her thumb across her cheek. Lucy matched the blonde's move, bringing the two girls face to face, she slid her right arm over the back of the seat and she continued whispering in her ear.

"You know it's not polite to whisper." Amy was startled out of the embrace, disappointed that she had been force to disentangle herself from the dark-haired beauty that was whispering mind-numbing things in her ear. Lucy groaned in discontent at the loss of physical contact with the blonde. They both looked up with matching frowns of disapproval to find Janet standing by the table with a coffee pot in her hand.

"Well the people who are actually _at_ this table, which you don't seem to be one of them, don't seem to mind." Lucy bluntly told her.

"Hmpf," Janet whipped her head to the other side of the table and looked at Dominique, "More coffee?"

"Sure." Dom said with a slight chuckle as she saw Janet had already begun to refill her cup.

"Well if anyone needs anything else just _politely",_ Janet said with emphasis as she looked at Lucy, "ask." Janet then turned on her heels once again, and walked off.

"Guess I won't be leaving her a tip," Lucy quipped as she turned her attention back to Amy. She was met with a smile and a soft stroke to her hand. While the arrival of the annoying waitress had broken their embrace, the D.E.B had retained a small contact, and now held her hand below the table top. Amy reveled at the ease of access that she now had in touching the stunning woman sitting beside her, she made a mental note that she simply had to do it more often.

"Shall we get back to business?" Max asked annoyed as she looked towards the counter and saw Janet briskly wiping it down as she stared in their direction.

"That's a good idea." Dominique answered as she took a sip of her freshly refilled cup of coffee. "You asked why we're asking you to drive for us…well Lucy does like to win, and we think that with you on our side we can do just that." Dominique figured that a little stroking of Max's ego may work in unruffling her feathers. She watched as Max appeared to think this over for a second, it seemed the fearless leader of team D.E.B.S did indeed have a weak spot, and flattery seemed to be it.

As Dominique was about to press on and finally seal this deal, her attention was abruptly diverted as she saw Riley entering the café with a few of her goons. Dom held a brief moment of hope that Riley had simply wanted a bite to eat, a hope that was dashed as the new arrivals headed their way. Instantly the girls of Pink Thunder sprung into action and started moving closer. With a slight wave of the hand Dominique called them off knowing that Riley probably wouldn't be a threat in such a public place. The girls obediently backed off but stayed close. "Luce," Dom spoke trying to get her distracted leaders attention. Lucy looked over at Dom, irritation clearly reflected in her creased brows, at yet another interruption. _I am never going to get laid at this rate._ A brief nod of her head directed her attention to why Dom had intruded. When Lucy saw the brunette weaving her way through the cafe, she bit off an internal curse. _Definitely not gonna be getting laid after this!_

"Well what do you know, we meet again." Riley drawled, standing next to the table as she beamed down at Lucy.

"Riley." Lucy said flatly. "It's so nice to see you…again."

"It's always good to see you Luce; perhaps now that you're back I'll be seeing more of you?" Riley inflection left little doubt that she would like to do more than simply see Lucy.

"Right," Lucy shifted uncomfortably as she removed her arm from the back of Amy's seat. Very much aware of Riley's implication and the distancing movement from Lucy, Amy gave her an un-amused glare, one that Lucy quickly tried to avoid.

"Mind if I join you?" Riley also noticed Lucy's motion but her response was a happy quirk of her lips.

"Yes!" Came the simultaneous response from everyone except for Lucy, she still had her eyes glued to Riley.

Lucy looked around the table and saw the expectant looks that she was getting and in an attempt to try to relieve some of the tension she cleared her throat. "Of course you know Dom." At Lucy's affirmative reply Riley quickly grabbed a chair from an unoccupied table, and spun it around, before straddling it, and sitting down at the end of the table. She was happy to note that Lucy's eyes remained riveted to her throughout the motion. Riley looked at Dom and gave her an acknowledging nod. Lucy looked over at Max. "And this is..."

"The girl that smoked my driver last night," Riley addressed Max her tone less than amused.

"That's right…but the name is Max."

"You know," Riley started, "it's a good thing that was an 'anything goes' race. That Tungsten wouldn't have stood a chance against my Carrera otherwise."

Max scoffed at Riley's implication. "If that's what you have to tell yourself to feel better about losing, then that's cool, but I think we all know that cars don't win races, drivers do." Max smugly replied as she sat back against the sit and folded her arms across her chest.

Lucy couldn't help the smile that made its way across her face, _she'd fit in very well with the organization, if it __wasn__'t for that whole secret agent thing. _Lucy shrugged slightly at the thought and continued. She looked fondly at Amy, who was still sporting a scowl. "And this is…" Lucy was cut off by Riley before she could finish the introduction.

"It's been a while Lucy, we should get a table and catch up." While she had acknowledged Max's presence she very pointedly snubbed Amy.

Amy narrowed her eyes at Riley and at her quick dismissal of her yet again. Just like last night the girl provoked unpleasant emotions in her, ones that were threatening to surface at any moment. _Get it together Bradshaw_, she chided herself. Taking a glance in Max's direction she could tell that it was probably the same thought that was going through her mind as well, if the glower on her face was anything to go by.

"Well Riley, as you can see, I'm kinda busy here." Lucy made a motion with her hand.

Riley took a quick glance around the table and upon laying eyes on Amy she gave her a condescending look with a bit of a scoff. "Surely Dom can handle this. I can't imagine it's all that important."

"Do you mind?" Fed up with Riley and her arrogance, Amy finally couldn't hold it in any longer. "We actually _were_ in the middle of something before you so rudely interrupted."

Riley only smirked at Amy, once again dismissing her, as she looked past her and addressed her comment to Lucy. "Since when do you allow the hired help to speak for you?" Amy felt her blood begin to boil, and she was quick to note that Max's jaw tighten as she clenched her fists. Lucy decided she'd better intervene before all hell broke loose seeing as they were surrounded by D.E.B.S, she knew this wouldn't end well.

"Ok Riley that's enough." Lucy looked at Amy apologetically. "Do you mind?" She gestured with her hand that she wanted her to stand and let her out of the booth. Amy looked at her with disbelief and then back to Riley her expression immediately changing to pure malice before she reluctantly stood up to let Lucy out of the booth.

Lucy slid out of the seat and stood, grabbing Riley by her forearm, pulling her up, and leading her a few feet away from the others to an empty table. "I see that winning personality is still intact." Lucy told her as she released her arm and instinctively pulled out a chair for Riley. Noting the action from the booth, Amy rolled her eyes and folded arms with an audible huff as she sat back down.

"Well you never seemed to have a problem with it before." Riley said with a sly smile as she sat down, but not before she reached up and brushed a few strands of stray hair from Lucy's forehead.

Lucy then pulled out her own chair and sat opposite of her ex. "What do you want Riley?" Lucy was trying to maintain her composure, the casually intimate gesture from Riley not helping. Even though she was annoyed with the way she had interrupted her 'meeting', she couldn't really bring herself to be all that upset with her. Seeing her last night was enough to bring back emotions that she knew now still lingered. The fact that less then twenty feet away sat another girl that she had conflicted emotions about just added another layer of turmoil to the situation. At the thought of the blonde she felt her eyes drift involuntarily in that direction.

"What I've always wanted." Riley tilted her head slightly. Lucy directs her attention back to Riley and mirrored her actions with a slight head tilt of her own. Riley frowned a bit knowing exactly what had Lucy's attention deflected, and she adjusted her chair so that she was now sitting directly in front of Lucy, effectively blocking her view of anything else. At Lucy's slightly startled look Riley gave a slight chuckle. "Relax. I'm not talking about THAT. What I meant was, we sit down, have a discussion about the families, and maybe come to a truce…or perhaps a merger. We were always good together; I don't see why we couldn't work together on a more professional level as well."

"So you want to talk business?" Lucy was clearly skeptical.

Amy excused herself from the table saying that she needed to visit the restroom. Max and Dominique had resumed the verbal back and forth about Max driving for the Reynolds, and at this point Amy could not care less. She was pleased to note that Lucy's eyes immediately shifted to her as she stood. A smile crossed Lucy's lips as Amy gave her a little wink when she sauntered past. Lucy eyes followed even as Amy cleared the table causing her to crane her neck to keep her in view. She only turned back when Amy was completely out of view and couldn't help the half grin that escaped when she saw that Riley had been checking Amy out as well.

Riley cleared her throat as she looked back at Lucy, choosing to ignore the interruption, and continued on with the conversation. "Well of course, isn't that what family heads do? What else did you think I wanted?" Riley flirted a bit, trying to regain control of the situation, and Lucy's attention.

"With you Riley, one never can tell." Lucy sat back against the chair.

"Well what do you think?"

"Fine…but not here and not now." Lucy was still mindful of all the agents surrounding them. "Scud will contact you to set something up for next week."

"Good old Scud, I'm sure he'll be thrilled. You know he's never liked me? I wonder why?" Riley asked contemplatively.

"Oh I don't know, maybe it had something to do with me sleeping with the enemy, so to speak," Lucy told her sarcastically, Scud's accusations from earlier still fresh in her mind. "But don't take it too personally; Scud's never liked any of my girlfriends." Lucy was slightly amused when she noticed the flash of jealousy cross Riley's face.

"Girlfriends?" Riley pressed. She knew that she and Lucy had been each other's first. Although she knew that after the breakup there were bound to be others, and the same certainly applied to her, that didn't mean she had to like it. Lucy only chuckled, choosing not to indulge Riley's 'fishing trip'.

Amy emerged from the restroom and was making her way back to the booth. As she walked past the table that Lucy and Riley occupied she slowly slid her hand down Lucy's arm and turned her head and gave her a seductive smiled before she took her seat.

Lucy's lips parted slightly and corner of her mouth raised in a half smile. Lucy cleared her throat. "I um…I have to get back."

"Right," Riley looked back to the booth and caught a glimpse of a grinning Amy which made her head snap back around in frustration. Lucy stood and started to walk away but was stopped by Riley. "Lucy?"

Lucy looked down at her expectantly. Riley stood up and stood directly in front of Lucy to meet her gaze with an intensity that made Lucy hold her breath. "Business aside," Riley reached out and brushed her fingers across Lucy's before holding on loosely, "I've never stopped hoping for your return...you've always been the one." Riley said with a shy smile before releasing Lucy and heading towards the door with her men following behind her.

Lucy sighed out as she contemplated Riley's statement and turned to watch her leave. Seemingly stuck in her place, Lucy's eyes wandered over to where Amy was, seeing she had adopted a small pout. Lucy couldn't help but smile at the cuteness of it and finally made her way back over. _Choices, choices! _She slid back into the booth beside Amy, who now had a Cheshire cat like grin plastered on her face. Lucy couldn't help but return the look as she slightly shook her head.

"You're something else." Lucy told her admiringly. Amy only kept smiling in response and wrapped her arm around the one that Lucy had now placed on the table, bringing herself closer. When Amy noticed the startled look Max sent her way at the action she almost released her hold and backed up. Something stiffened her resolve, and instead she met her partners look unflinchingly.

"So what'd I miss?" Lucy asked as she looked around the table.

"Not too much," Dominique replied. "I was just trying to convince Max, who is still on the fence, about driving for us. So I asked her to join us in that little mission we have planned."

"Ah, yes. Well I'm not sure she'd be up for that, especially if she doesn't think she could handle being a driver for me." Lucy directed her response to Dominique, acting like Max wasn't even sitting at the table.

"I never said I couldn't handle being your driver," Max interjected, annoyed at the brush off.

"Then why not accept?"

"Look," Amy spoke up, deciding to intervene. While she knew that Max didn't want to appear too eager, she was getting a bit tired of the endless debating. Also, the arrival of Riley had stretched her tolerance to the limit. "All of this back and forth is rather pointless. How about we get down to business? Instead of you trying to play Max," Amy looked pointedly at Dominique and Lucy, "how about you tell us what it is you need us to do where this _mission_ is concerned. If…and that's a big if, we decide that it's something we want to do, after it's done then yes, Max will drive for you." Amy smiled at the occupants at the table, but then something else came to mind. "Oh, and since we'd be on the payroll and all...the previous two percent just won't do, we'll now require four." Amy sat back against the seat satisfied with herself; leaving a shocked Max, an impressed Dominique, and an admiring Lucy all gawking at her. "What?" Amy shrugged. "A girl has to shop." _Oh I definitely like this one, _Lucy thought as she beamed at Amy.

"Yeah, what she said." Max finally said a little more than impressed with Amy's forwardness.

Dominique looked over at Lucy who was still looking admiringly at Amy, but finally feeling Dom's gaze on her Lucy looked to her and gave her a little nod. "Well," Dom replied, "we can't tell you exact details right now but here." Dom reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper that held the address to the estate and set it on the table. "Meet us here next week and you'll find out everything you need to know."

"Ok." Max grabbed the piece of paper and shoved it into her pants pocket. The last thing she wanted was for Janet to see the paper on the table and use it as another excuse to drop by and snoop.

"Well, now that that's settled…" Lucy looked over at Amy, and met her eyes with a trace of regret. "I guess we need to get going." Lucy didn't really want to leave but considering the fact that she had just agreed to a meeting with Riley she knew business had to come first. When she told Scud she just knew he was going to have a fit. _How had Riley even known that I would be here_? Seeing Max stand to let Dominique out of the booth brought Lucy out of her thoughts and she stood as well.

"We'll see you two around," Dominique told the two as she headed off in the direction of the door. Some of the girls from Pink Thunder that were in the cafe filed out after her, the others stood around and waited on Lucy. Lucy lingered for a brief moment, hoping Max would get the point and leave her and Amy alone. When it was clear that she wasn't going to cooperate, Lucy just looked down at Amy with a smile. Before the blonde could figure our her intent, she placed her hand on the side of Amy's neck and leaned down to give her a lingering, though chaste, kiss on the lips. The kiss lasted long enough for Amy to hear a gasp from behind Lucy that she identified as Max. Through the fog created from Lucy's lips being pressed against hers once again, she heard something hit the floor with a loud crash followed by a mumbled 'sorry'.

Lucy pulled back slightly slowly licking her lips, causing Amy to unconsciously mirror the action. "I'll definitely be seeing you around." Lucy's lips brushed across Amy's as she gave her another quick kiss before she stood and walked away as well. Amy watched as Lucy walked away with a silly grin on her face. Her lust filled eyes never leaving the brunette, even after she walked through the door. Amy turned her head to look out the large window by the booth and watched as Lucy swung gracefully onto her motorcycle and roared off.

Hearing a throat clear, Amy snapped back to reality and looked over at Max, who had slid back into the booth across from her. Amy couldn't quite decipher the look that Max was giving her; it appeared to be a mix of curious, un-amused and **extremely** pissed. Amy felt the blush creep up over her neck and plaster itself on her face. She imagined that Crayola would have to come up with a new shade of red to describe her current state of pigmentation. The resolve and boldness she had felt earlier when Lucy was present seemed to have made its exit with the sexy brunette. She immediately dropped her eyes to the table as she silently began to fumble with whatever her hands came across.

For once Max appeared to be totally speechless as she tried to come up with something to say to her partner. She really couldn't believe what she'd just seen. Sure there were times where they had to do things to make certain undercover missions successful, but never had she seen her counterpart go to _this_ extreme to make a mission work. And from the looks of it, it certainly wasn't the first time. She was determined to find out just what the hell was going on here! Max finally found her voice, but before she could say anything Janet appeared at that table.

"Oh my god!" Janet shrieked. Amy abruptly looked up at her, relieved for a distraction from Max's glowering disapproval. "She totally just kissed you!" Amy frowned at Janet and looked around briefly to see if anyone was staring as Janet announced her revelation and then looked back to her. "And you let her!" That certainly gave Janet the answer to why Lucy had twice come asking only for Amy.

"Yeah Bradshaw, what the hell _was_ that?!?" Max leaned forward, setting both or her arms against the table for leverage, finally speaking up.

Amy slouched back against the seat uncomfortably. Janet stood there gaping at her and Max still sat there with that unreadable expression. She opened her mouth to say something. What? She had no clue. Thankfully she was cut off by someone in the background calling out to Janet.

"Hey new girl are you gonna clean up this mess?"

Janet looked around sheepishly at the man who'd barked at her for leaving the broken dishes and food lying on the floor, she'd dropped the entire tray she was carrying when she saw Amy and Lucy's lip lock. She turned back around and looked between the two girls. "I expect a _full_ report on this later." Turning on her heels, she quickly ran over to the fallen tray muttering another 'sorry' to the man that stood behind the counter.

Sighing in relief that Janet was gone, Amy ran a shaky hand through her blonde locks as she looked over at her partner. Max raised a brow at her, clearly waiting for an explanation. Figuring it had to be a good sign that Max wasn't yelling, or storming out, or any of the usual things that the she did when she was pissed off, Amy went into Perfect Score mode.

"Well, what was I suppose to do? I couldn't exactly cower away now could I?" _Hook. _"I mean after last night, the whole thing with Bobby and then everything after it probably would've raised all kinds of flags to her, especially since I'm supposedly trying to appear to be into her ya know." _Line. _"I mean wasn't that _your_ plan Max? For me to make her think I was into her?" _Sinker. _

Max seemed to be contemplating the rationale that Amy had just given her, she knew Amy wasn't into chicks, _or at least she __didn__'t think she was_. It could stand to reason that Amy was simply doing as planned and there was no real danger of her partner actually falling for the criminal. She then sat back against the seat and folded her arms, not ready to accept her explanation just yet. "You looked more than happy to cozy up to her. The plan was for you to get her to fall for you, not the other way around. And it certainly wasn't in the plan for you to be sticking your tongue down her throat. That also didn't seem like it was the first time you guys kissed, it almost seemed…expected."

Amy rolled her eyes, "Oh there was no tongue involved." _Not that time, _but she relaxed a little knowing that Max had somewhat bought into what she'd just told her. If she hadn't then there would have been a lot more yelling, but of course Max being Max, she needed a bit more coaxing. "Are you forgetting who you are talking to Max? I'm the Perfect Score remember? The perfect liar." There was a touch of self loathing in her voice, something that went thankfully unnoticed by Max. "Besides you know how those egotistical types are, they think they can take what they want when they want. I guess she just figured after last night, I'd be receptive to it, ya know?" Amy shrugged as she sat back against her seat as well trying to present an air of indifference.

"And you're okay with this?" Max narrowed her eyes at Amy, still unsure.

"Well, it seems no one thinks we can get this mission done without interference, thus DHS getting involved and Ms. Petrie bringing in Janet. I just think it's time we stepped up our game a little so we can prove to them that we're as good as you think we are." Amy smiled in Max's direction and inwardly sighed in relief as she saw her partner smile back. "Whatever it takes right?" Amy raised a brow at Max, daring her to not agree.

Max laughed at Amy's declaration. "Well let's just hope we get this thing closed before we get to _that _point, Bradshaw." Amy knew exactly what Max meant when she put emphasis on 'that', although when she ran 'that' thought through her mind she couldn't help the visual images of her getting down and dirty with Lucy for the sake of national security…_or_ for the sake of her own personal gratification, it had indeed been a while. Amy couldn't help the broad grin that came across her face from her thoughts, but she was brought out of them by Max asking a very valid question.

"So what do you think the Schaffer chick was doing here?"

Amy's smile faded as she thought about the _other _brunette that Lucy seemed to keep reacting too. "Well I don't know. It did seem a bit odd for her and her guys to show up considering I don't think she's ever been here before. Surely our surveillance team would've mentioned it if she had." Amy couldn't help remembering the anger that crept up, _or was it jealously_, when Riley had approached. "I mean all of a sudden when Lucy's here she shows up…and not only that, she totally disregards the fact that someone else other than Lucy is sitting at the table."

"Well now, that's not exactly true Amy, she did mention the fact that I 'smoked' her driver." Max corrected her, amused. Amy only looked at her and rolled her eyes. "But I guess we should try to keep an eye on Riley as well, the last thing we need is for those two to get together." Amy only nodded because the last thing _she_ needed was for Lucy and Riley to get together. "Maybe you should see if you can get something out of Bobby since he's working the Schaffer case."

Amy shook her head a little. "I've already asked him about it, he doesn't seem to know much. And I don't think they're planning anything together, at least not from my take on Lucy's reaction to seeing her last night."

"Well, you can never be sure with criminal masterminds...it's not like they lay it all out in the open for us to see, certainly would make the job easier though. Hey maybe you can have Bobby over from time to time to get more info from the Schaffer case!" Max suggested.

Amy gave her an exasperated look. "First Lucy, now Bobby?"

Max could only laugh at her own suggestion before she shrugged with a grin in place. "Perfect Score turned Perfect Whore!" Amy's jaw dropped at her friend's comment, she then picked up a sugar packet and threw it at her. Max dodged the packet with a laugh. "That probably wouldn't work anyway, I doubt Lucy would take to kindly to the competition." Amy only glared at Max as she crossed her arms over her chest in a huff.

Deciding to take pity on her partner Max changed the subject. "Hey, and what was with your little improvised outburst?"

"I just got sick of you going back and forth with them. The plan was that we would agree, but at the rate you were going we never would've gotten anything accomplished."

"I guess you're right." Amy looked at Max with an expression of mock shock at the admission that someone else was right besides her. "Hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day." Max told her trying to mask a smile of her own. "But now we have a chance to find out just what she's up to we have to be careful not to blow it. At least you appear to be serving your purpose of keeping Lucy interested."

"Gee, thanks." Amy sent her partner a withering look.

"Just don't let Riley Schaffer distract you from the mission at hand. The last thing we need is you acting like a jealous girlfriend, which I shouldn't have to remind you that you aren't; even though you're getting your smooch on with Lucy." Max shot her a look. Perhaps Max's suspicions from earlier hadn't been quite as easily allayed as Amy thought.

"Whatever." Amy folded her arms and sat back against the chair. Both girls sat there not saying anything. Max finally pulled the address out of her pocket and studied it for a few moments before their silence was suddenly broken.

Janet bustled back over to the table after hurriedly cleaning up the mess she had caused with her dropped tray. Not waiting for an invitation she nudged Max with her elbow, blithely ignored the outraged look that was sent her way, and plopped onto the bench seat across from Amy.

"Ok so what was that?" Janet asked breathlessly.

"Well, it was," Amy started to respond, wanting to just hurry up and get this ordeal over with. Before she could finish her reply she was cut off.

"I mean I know what it was. You _kissed_ Lucy Diamond. I just can't believe you would _do _that. Why would you do that?"

"Well, I.."

"Does Ms. Petrie know about this? No, she couldn't. There is no way she would approve this. Are you going to tell her?"

"Well, I.."

"You have to tell her. I mean this is just so major. You kissed Lucy Diamond!"

"Yes, we've.."

"I still don't get why you would do that. I mean you have Bobby. And Lucy Diamond is one of the most wanted criminals in the US. And hello?! She's a girl!"

"Janet!!" Amy had finally had enough of being interrupted by the nearly hyperventilating brunette. "If you would take a breath and let me finish a sentence I could answer some of your questions."

"Hey Bradshaw, I think I was wrong about this one." Max said with nod at Janet. "Maybe she does have what it takes to be a real agent."

"Really?" Janet turned her head to look at Max, caught off guard by the unexpected praise from the usually taciturn agent.

"Yeah I mean not just anyone could pick up on the fact that Lucy Diamond is a girl. That takes real talent," Max finished with a smirk.

Amy started to laugh but quickly bit it back when she saw the affronted look cross Janet's face. While she was no more thrilled with the other girls presence then Max was, someone had to try to keep the peace, it just normally wasn't Max that did so.

"Very funny. But I hardly think this is a laughing matter. You just kissed, _Lucy Diamond."_

"Yes. I think that is a point that has been well covered. I don't see what you are getting so worked up about. I was just doing my job." Amy replied. _And some days I really love my job. _

"Your job?" Janet questioned shrilly. "How is making out with a wanted criminal part of your job description? I must have missed that part in the D.E.B.S. manual."

"You see, this is why we didn't want you in the field." Max cut in. "You have no idea what it takes to be a field agent and your green ass just keeps making it harder for us to do our job."

"And _this _is what it takes?" Janet asked incredulously, only to get a shrug from Amy. "And you're okay with this?" Janet questioned Max.

Max shrugged. "Sure. Why wouldn't I be? If it gets the job done I'm all for it."

_Uh, what's with the shrugging! _Janet shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you two. Is this how you get all your missions done? I really don't think Ms. Petrie would approve of this at all. I mean the D.E.B.S. isn't _that_ kind of agency."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Amy didn't like the implication in the other girl's statement.

"I just think there must be better ways to get the mission accomplished." Janet responded primly.

"Look, you were sent here because Petrie wasn't confident with the progress we were making. Now we're making progress and you don't like how we are doing it. Why don't you just let us do our jobs and not worry about how we are getting them done?" Max looked over the café. "Aren't there some customers that need refills or something?"

"I'm on break," Janet retorted. "Well I think it will be interesting to see what Ms. Petrie has to say about this."

"You are going to just have to keep on wondering," Amy finally spoke up, clearly not thrilled with any prospect of having them pulled from the case, but more accurately, her being pulled away from Lucy, "because you will be keeping that little tidbit to yourself." While she was fairly certain that Ms. Petrie wouldn't take issue with how they were running this operation, experience had taught her that it was often better to get the job done before revealing your methods. When your superiors were presented with a successful outcome they tended to be a bit more forgiving of the methods used to attain it. Bring them in on your plan form the start, however and you were often just asking for trouble.

"Well I don't think..."

"I'm not asking you to think," Amy cut her off before she could get rolling. "Assuming you're right, which I don't think you are, and Petrie thinks that this is a bad idea, what do you think happens then? If we suddenly change tactics mid-stream Lucy is likely to get suspicious or lose interest, and if either of those things happen we are back to square one. If this op gets cancelled that means you go back to your tidy little desk at HQ."

Janet just sat there, mouth agape. Amy was always the voice of reason, now it seemed that Max was definitely starting to rub off on her former level-headed squad mate. As Amy watched the other girl digest her statement she knew that she had played the correct card. Ever since she had shown up on their doorstep the other girl had seemed almost desperate to remain in the field and be a part of their op. Faced with keeping quiet, or losing her position in the field, Amy had been almost positive the girl would chose the former.

"Ok. I won't say anything to Ms. Petrie," Janet stated in a quiet tone.

"Good." Amy smiled, relieved that Janet had acquiesced without much fight.

"On one condition." _Shit. Why __couldn__'t anything ever be simple?_

"What condition?" Amy asked warily.

"If you guys expect me to be quiet you have to fill me in. On _all_ the details, because there is clearly some stuff you have been leaving out." Amy met her partner's gaze, and after a brief, silent communication nodded her assent. "Ok so tell me."

Amy rolled her eyes at the other girl's eagerness. "Look Janet, I really don't think now is the time or place, can't we just do this later?"

"Sure, but we have a deal," Janet replied obstinately, crossing her arms across her chest. Amy sighed, really not looking forward to this but not seeing an easy way out of it.

"Hey Janet, what's that on your shoulder?" Max casually pointed to a glop of something that was resting on Janet's right shoulder.

"What? Where?" Craning her neck, Janet brought her hand up to pull the fabric of her sweater forward to get a better look. "Oh my god! It's ketchup! How in the world did that get on my shoulder? I just bought this sweater!" Quickly jumping to her feet, Janet quickly glanced at the other two girls. "Look we can finish this up later, I need to take care of this before it stains." Muttering to herself about club soda and set in stains, Janet set off hurriedly towards the kitchen.

"Well that was convenient," Amy drawled. "Funny, I don't remember that being there when she sat down."

"You must be mistaken, she did dump that entire tray, something must have splattered on her. I mean how else could if have gotten there?" Max replied blandly.

"How else indeed. C'mon lets get out of here before she comes back." Amy stood up form the booth and waited for Max to get to her feet.

"It's like you read my mind." Pushing herself to her feet Max waited for Amy to start walking toward the door before casually tossing a half used ketchup packet back onto the table.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**AN: Finally back with another monster of a chapter, which I hopes makes up for the long delay in posting. Once again, and as always thanks to those who have read and reviewed previously...hope that you continue to do so! Not sure what you'll think of this chapter, it's choked full of Riley, and after this chapter you'll either love or hate her, or love to hate/hate to love her. Either way, we'd like to know! So please R&R!**

**And I'm not sure if this is mentioned previously, but all text done in italics signifies a flashback. **

* * *

Once again Amy found herself standing in front of her closet. "They're all wrong," she sighed as she stepped away, and fell back onto her bed in a huff. She shifted uncomfortably as she pulled out a few items that had been haphazardly thrown on the bed in her search for something to wear. Max and she were meeting with Lucy and Dominique later to discuss the details of the op Lucy had mentioned, but a chance to push their investigation into the Reynolds crime organization further was the last thing on her mind; right now, she needed the perfect outfit.

Amy sat up and propped herself on her elbows and sighed once again. Half of her wardrobe was left at the house that she shared with Max when they weren't undercover; stopping by and grabbing something was not an option. She never figured that she would be this concerned about what she wore during this undercover operation, so she mainly brought what she needed for comfort and a few "party" items. Now however, she found herself in a predicament; all of her clothes were a little too casual for her liking and she had a woman to impress!

Despite her dilemma, Amy couldn't help the smile that crept across her face as she thought about said woman and the kiss, well okay kisses, they'd shared. The first had been very passionate and lustful, the memory of it still made Amy weak in the knees. At the time she had briefly thought that she was surely going to fall on her ass, luckily the wall that Lucy had pressed her against allowed her to stay upright; thankfully saving her from a heap of embarrassment. She was sure that Lucy was used to having women fall at her feet, but she would like to avoid making that a literal statement in her case.

The second one was the complete opposite though; it was still full of passion and gave her that lightheaded feeling, but it was tender and it had felt so natural. Needless to say, Amy was definitely looking forward to more contact of the kissing variety with Lucy, which is why she needed to look her best. With one final sigh in the direction of her closet, Amy glanced at the clock on her nightstand and pushed herself off the bed. She had a few hours to spare before the meeting and she had some shopping to do.

Scud sat in the data control room behind his desk with his elbow propped on the surface, his chin resting in his hand as he focused on the information suspended in front of him. He jumped slightly as a hand was firmly placed on his shoulder. He spun in his seat to face the intruder. "Jesus Lucy! What'd I tell you about sneaking up on me like that?" He placed a hand over his heart to exaggerate his point. "I told you, you need to start wearing a bell or something." Lucy only rolled her eyes at him as she moved around the table and sat herself up on the end of it as she scanned over what Scud was looking at.

She chuckled as she turned to glance at him over her shoulder. "A devil?" She shook her head in amusement at the shrug he gave her in response.

"Yeah well, you're the one who think she's harmless." Suspended in front of them was a map of L.A. that was marked with all of the businesses that the Schaffer's owned, represented with a little red devil icon. On the same map Scud had marked all the businesses that the Reynolds' currently controlled with the family crest. Although there were other families in the area, Lucy had only asked that the Schaffer's be shown in preparation of her impending meeting with Riley to discuss 'business'.

"Oh Scud, I never said she was harmless." Lucy smirked at her friend. Recognizing the look on his face that was generally a prelude to a lecture, Lucy decided to head him off at the pass. "In fact, there was this one time that she.."

"Oh no, no no no," Scud quickly interrupted. Scud knew that look. It was Lucy's 'about to torture Scud with hideous amounts of over share about her sexual escapades' look. "It is too early in the day for one of your sordid stories Luce. Focus, Lucy, focus." Lucy smiled slightly in triumph, _lecture averted. _

Scud watched as Lucy's eyes darted around the map. Although the Reynolds' owned the majority of the holdings on the map, many of the businesses that were owned by the Schaffer's were in close proximity to the Reynolds'. While he didn't currently have them sorted by time of acquisition he had run an analysis earlier, and in the last six months there had been a definite increase in the level of encroachment from the Schaffer's into formerly undisputed turf. He didn't doubt Lucy's leadership skills, being the only child, he knew Lorenzo made sure Lucy was fully prepared and able to take control of the family business. Scud did however question her judgment when it came to Riley Schaffer.

"So what do you think she's planning Luce? I mean she's already taking control over the holdings here, here, here and here," Scud pointed out with his laser pointer. "And that's all within a few months time."

Lucy sighed as she looked on, "Don't really know Scud, but hopefully this meeting will give me a little more insight on what it is she's doing."

"Really? Because if you ask me, it looks like she's planning a takeover! And if you..."

"If I hadn't what Scud?" Lucy asked, her voice suddenly taking on a venemous tone. "If I hadn't taken the time to grieve for my father and instead came back and gotten down to business this wouldn't have happened?"

Scud shook his head vigorously. "No! That's not what I was gonna say! What I was saying was if you could just get passed whatever it is you're feeling for Riley, then maybe you can see things a bit more clearly."

"Scud, trust me when I tell you that I won't let any unresolved issues I may or may not have with Riley affect my business dealings," Lucy's voice was calmer this time as she spoke. Already regretting the tone she'd previously taken with her second in command. Even though she wasn't there, she knew Scud had done everything he could to keep the organization running as smoothly as possible, and she knew she owed him a great deal for it.

Scud simply nodded as she turned his attention back to the information in front of him. "I trust you." It was a simple statement, but it meant the world to Lucy and she couldn't help but smile. "I just wish I knew what her motives were," he sighed. "So what are we going to do?" Scud questioned as he roughly ran his hand through his dirty blond hair. He'd vocally disapproved of this meeting every change he could get since he had learned about it. When Riley had the nerve to call and insist that Lucy had already okay-ed it, he was sure the girl must be delusional. Much to his dismay he learned that she was, in fact, telling the truth.

He had known about the relationship Lucy had with Riley when it first began, although she had only officially confided in Dominique about it. He had been hurt at first, until he realized that she had probably only told Dom to ensure that the other girl didn't try to put the moves on Riley. She had eventually broken down and told him about the relationship when he had threatened to go to her father and tell him that he suspected that she was on drugs; for Lucy to be that happy it was either drugs or love. A part of him wished it had been drugs. Lucy in love was far too unpredictable. Scud hated unpredictable.

Once he had been made aware of the situation it had been easy for him to see just how much Lucy loved Riley. She wouldn't shut up about the girl, in fact. Against his better judgment he had helped cover for Lucy so she could be with Riley as much as possible. He had also been there to help pick up the pieces when she had to leave her behind and go to Tokyo. And even though he wasn't particularly sad about the breakup, being that much involved with a rival was never a good idea; a part of him had never forgiven her for breaking Lucy's heart.

Lucy turned her head slightly to look at Scud; she observed the troubled look that her second in command displayed and knew that he only meant well. While she would never tell him so, she had relied on his steadfast presence when they had first moved to Tokyo. That time in her life was not something she liked to dwell on, her weakness and vulnerability still a source of embarrassment for her years later. Luckily the only ones that had been close enough to witness her emotional turmoil after the breakup had been Dom and Scud, two people she could trust with her secrets. Unfortunately, that same intimate understanding was what allowed them to see through her carefully constructed facades.

Her initial avoidance of Riley may have looked like disinterest to the uninformed onlooker, but she was sure both Scud and Dom had correctly read her unease. Just as she was sure Dom had watched her brief conversation with Riley in the cafe with an eagle eye. They were sure to have reservations, serious ones, about the reappearance of the one person who had ever managed to topple her defenses. Hell, she had reservations about letting Riley get too close. The teenage part of her that was still in love with Riley wanted to simple say to hell with the consequences, and embrace the possibilities that still lay between them with open arms. Luckily for all involved the teenager was not in charge.

She refused to acknowledge it to Scud, because really the boy was already an insufferable know it all, but she couldn't trust Riley. Not completely. Too much time had passed for them to still be even close to the same people they once were. While she trusted her teenage love completely, she would have to be an idiot to trust her adult counterpart the same way.

"I think it makes sense to keep the Schaffers close. This way, if we have to counteract a takeover it'll be easier seeing as we'd have access to how she operated within her organization. Thus, giving us a better edge in exacting our own takeover. You know what they say about enemies right?" Lucy shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"Shoot first, and make sure you have a good spot to dump the body?"

His attempt at levity had the desired effect and Lucy let out a small laugh. "Not exactly what I had in mind Scud. I was thinking more along the lines of keeping them close." Lucy shrugged again as she looked over her shoulder to gauge Scud's reaction.

"Yeah I have never understood that whole thing. I mean letting them close just seems like a really poor security decision," Scud joked back, fighting off the grin that was pulling at the corner of his lips. Clearly his plea to watch out for Riley had been heard, even though Lucy hadn't come out directly and admitted it. "Uh, right," he struggled to find the right words to convey that he agreed, but not that he knew had won their earlier argument about trusting the Schaffers. "So you want to plan a takeover?" He finally asked looking up into somewhat melancholy chocolate orbs. He knew that it must've been a struggle for Lucy to ultimately come to the conclusion that perhaps Riley could've had a hand in her father's death, and that any business talk she wanted to have was simply a ploy to gain total control.

Turning around, Lucy leaned back and propped her hands against the desk as she looked at the screen once again, taking in the positioning of each family. She stayed silent for longer than Scud's raging instinct to plan was comfortable with, yet he sat and waited. "Doesn't hurt to be prepared," Lucy eventually stated as she hopped off the desk and exited the room, but not before given Scud a knowing wink. He smiled to himself, knowing that Lucy had given him implicit approval to keep the close tabs she already knew he would be keeping on the rival family.

* * *

In a huff, Amy threw her bags in the trunk of the car. At the last minute she decided to ask Janet if she would go with her to the mall. There was no chance in hell Max would join her to shop the crowded strips of L.A. on a Saturday afternoon. Janet had jumped at the chance, her ketchup stain had set in, and she was apparently in desperate need of a replacement sweater. Amy was fairly certain that some one that owned well over a hundred sweaters was probably covered for all possible sweater required situations, but she didn't want to go shopping alone, and had kept that opinion to herself. She'd spent the better part of her shopping trip convincing Janet not to spend her life savings on an array of cardigans and answering Janet's endless stream of questions about the details of their slight change of approach to the mission.

They had completed their debriefing the previous day, filling her in on the specifics of their new plan. Janet had promised that she would leave the more personal details out of the reports when she turned them in, in exchange for them letting her go out into the field with them sometimes. After some heavy convincing, a begrudging Max finally agreed, knowing that it was best that Ms. Petrie didn't know exactly how they were planning on making this mission a success. However, Janet being Janet, she wanted to be filled in on everything that had happened so far concerning these change of tactics and the reasoning for changing them. More importantly, she wanted to know how they came up with a plan that involved Amy making out with Lucy Diamond.

"So you're saying that Max noticed Lucy getting all flirty with you and _that's_ how you guys got the bright idea for you to become Lucy Diamond's whore for the sake of the mission?" Janet asked pausing next to Amy before putting her own bags in the trunk, still in disbelief about this whole setup.

Slamming the trunk down and shooting Janet an exasperated look, Amy made her way over to the driver side. "I'm not her whore!" Amy exclaimed as she got into the vehicle and waited for Janet to do the same. "And yes, I know it sounds a little…easy," Amy said for lack of a better word, "but…" she went to continue but was interrupted by Janet.

"Easy? Are we still talking about the mission, or did you mean _you_?" Janet snidely asked.

Amy glared at her with narrowed eyes, wondering why she always came to the defense of the younger girl whenever Max came down so hard on her. All she wanted to do right now was send her packing back to the D.E.B.S headquarters. "No Janet," Amy said through gritted teeth. "I meant the approach may seem easy, but we found a weakness, and we're using it to our advantage." Amy began to feel somewhat giddy at the notion of being a weakness for Lucy. She turned away from Janet and tried to fight down a smile as she felt a slight flush start to make its way across her face.

Getting herself under control, Amy turned back to Janet. "After all that is how good _field agents_ are successful in their missions," she told her in a superior tone. Effectively shut down, Janet folded her arms in a pout, sat back roughly against the seat and looked straight ahead as Amy pulled out of the parking lot. _Maybe Max has the right idea after all, being mean seems to be the only thing that shuts her up._

Checking her watch she cursed softly. The trip to the mall had taken far longer than she planned, cutting her primping time dangerously short. Luckily she had only purchased a half dozen new outfits so selecting one should be a piece of cake. Deciding it would probably be better not to take any chances she put a little more pressure on the gas pedal. She was an officer of the law after all, speeding was one of the perks of the job.

* * *

Riley tilted back in her desk chair, and propped her feet on the desk. It was a familiar position for the beautiful brunette; it helped her work through difficult problems. Idly drumming her fingertips on the smooth finish of the desktop she conceded if she had one thing in abundance, it was difficult problems. She had devoted her entire life to achieving one single goal, and now that she had reached it she wasn't sure it was all it had been cracked up to be. Looking at things now, from a leader's point of view, she had never felt lonelier or more weighed down in her life.

Growing up, the only parent she had was her father, her mother had died giving birth and her dad had never remarried. Her father had other siblings, a brother who was killed in the bloody feud against the Reynolds at a young age, and a sister that was sent away in her early teens to "better" herself. When Riley was younger her aunt had done what she could to help in raising her, but she had only been around occasionally. Riley saw less of her aunt as she grew older, and eventually would only briefly encounter her whenever a legal situation would arise with the family. Since in her line of business it was best to keep legal matters as infrequent as possible, she rarely saw her in person anymore. There were still the brief conversations regarding business and personal matters, but Riley was pretty much alone.

As her father's only child she had always known she would be expected to take over for him one day, and she had shouldered that expectation gladly. Sacrifices had been required, one in particular that she still mourned, but she had always believed that they would be worth it. Now, once again faced with exactly what she had lost, and her ever present feeling of loneliness, she wasn't so sure.

The current problem that was vexing her was one Lucinda Reynolds. She had anticipated that she was going to have to put forth some effort to regain the affections of the other girl, but she was starting to realize that it was going to be a bit harder then she had originally assumed. When she had first gotten the call that Lucy was going to be at some dive café, far from her usual stomping grounds, she had thought it was out of character. Once she arrived however it became very clear what had drawn her former lover there.

Riley let out an annoyed sigh as she was once again forced to think of the blonde that seemed to be a bigger part of the picture then she had originally hoped. While she had feigned ignorance of Lucy's activities overseas at the café, she had managed to keep a discreet eye on her; enough of an eye to know that Lucy did not do the chasing when it came to women. That she was apparently pursing the blonde, _Avery? Angela? Annie? Whoever!_, it was troubling indeed.

Picking up the file that Frank had given her earlier, she quickly scanned the top sheet. _Amy. Well I had the "A" part right. _She tossed the file back onto the desk. When she had asked Frank to dig into the past of the blonde and her partner she wasn't sure exactly what she had expected to find, but she hadn't counted on finding nothing. She had hoped that something would jump out at her, and ring a giant alarm of warning. Something she could take to Lucy and use to get her to cut the blonde off, something solid enough that she wouldn't just look like a jealous ex-girlfriend.

She jumped slightly when the phone on the corner of her desk let out a shrill. Glad of the distraction she stretched forward to pick up the receiver. Once it was in hand she cradled it between her ear and shoulder, and tilted back in her chair once again.

"Schaffer."

"Now Riley, is that any way for a young lady to answer the phone?"

"Nope, but then I never really was much of a lady." Riley smiled happily into the phone as she recognized her aunt's voice. The older women's struggle to try to instill some proper manners into Riley when she was a child had turned into a bit of a joke between the two when it became clear that Riley was much more interested in racing cars and wielding knives then learning proper etiquette.

Her aunt's elegant snort was easily heard over the phone line. "Tell me something I don't know. So how are you? It's been some time since we last chatted."

"I'm okay. While it's not progressing as quickly as I want business is slowly improving. I've made some contacts that may help get around some of the roadblocks I run into from time to time."

Her aunt laughed softly in reply. "Leave it to you to boil everything down to business. How are YOU Riley? If I wanted to know how the family empire was fairing I could simply call Frank."

Riley fidgeted briefly in her chair. Not sure if she wanted to bring up the topic that was foremost in her mind. While she was sure her aunt would provide a sympathetic ear, she had never hidden her displeasure over Riley's past relationship with Lucy.

She had done her best to keep the affair under wraps but caught up in the excitement and heat of her first love she had been almost bursting to tell someone, and one day had finally let it slip to her aunt. Riley had sworn her to secrecy, and since her father had never mentioned it, she was confident that her revelation had remained just between them.

When she had first revealed that she was madly in love, her aunt had expressed nothing but joy on her behalf. It wasn't until she revealed the identity of her lover that her reservations had been voiced. The fact that she had remained silent, even with her reservations, had forever endeared her to Riley. She was reluctant now to bring up a subject of past friction, not wanting yet another lecture on the evils of all things Reynolds.

"I'm fine. Nothing much to report, keeping everything running takes almost all of my free time, doesn't really leave me much for anything else," Riley hedged.

"All work and no play Riley," her aunt chided.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll work on getting in a little R&R." Riley decided it was probably best not to share with her aunt that while working didn't leave tons of time for dating, she wasn't exactly without companionship. Some things were really better left unsaid.

"Mmm, I am sure that you will. You know…" Riley recognized the tone change in her aunt's voice; it was time for her to get down to the real reason for phoning. "I heard the most interesting rumor the other day."

"Oh?" Riley decided to go with the rather abrupt shift in conversation, anything to halt further talk about her personal life.

"Yes, it seems Lucinda Reynolds is back in town." Riley groaned to herself, so much for not getting to personal. She should have known this phone call wasn't random. Her aunt seemed to have an uncanny ability to ferret out juicy information; it was her job as an attorney after all.

"Oh? I'm surprised; when she didn't come back months ago I guess I just assumed that she had written off running the family business." Riley tried to feign nonchalance. "Where did you hear this from anyway?"

"Oh I have my sources," her aunt responded mysteriously. "And those same sources say that you may have already had a run in with her." Riley rolled her eyes at her aunt calling her out. She really had to find out who these sources were and get rid of them.

"Auntie..." Riley started to protest.

"I'm not going to give you a lecture. You know where I stand on this subject, but I will caution you to be careful. You simply can't trust a Reynolds, dear. Besides you know how broken apart you were the last time. Do you really want to go through all that again?" The genuine concern in her aunt's voice was easy to discern.

"I'll be careful," Riley reassured her aunt. "Besides, I don't think Lucy is all that interested in me anyway."

"Oh? So you _have_ already tested those waters?" There was a hint of amusement lacing her aunt's tone.

Riley flushed slightly in embarrassment, hating how lovesick she became when Lucy was involved. "Well not exactly, but there is someone else on the scene, someone that seems to have her attention pretty firmly," Riley shifted uncomfortably at the thought.

"Well I'm not going to say I'm sorry, you would know I was lying. Take this as a sign to steer clear of this girl once and for all. There are plenty of others out there Riley, why you seem so fixed on this one is beyond me."

"You've never met her; if you had you'd understand. She's nothing like her father," Riley trailed off and smile softly at some of the memories of her and Lucy together. "There's just something special about her." Riley was quiet for a long moment and was knocked out of her love haze when her aunt cleared her throat. Riley straightened in her chair and cleared her own throat before continuing. "Plus if the two of us combined forces we would be unstoppable."

"Riley," her aunt attempted to interrupt with an authoritative tone, there was no way she was going to allow her niece to join forces with the family that was responsible for so many deaths in her own.

Riley ignored her, plowing forward with her front. "Just because Daddy had a feud he didn't want to let go of, doesn't mean I am going to carry on the tradition. If nothing else, I need to find a way to work with her on a professional level. Most of the roadblocks I mentioned earlier are directly tied to the Reynolds'." Riley winced at how pleading she sounded, but she desperately wanted her aunt to get on board with her idea. Besides, she knew that if she wanted to be successful in a merger with the Reynolds, her aunt's legal expertise would be needed.

"Yes well that's because they have always been an obstruction. Those people want nothing more than to see the Schaffer's fail."

"You sound just like Daddy. Did either one of you ever stop to think that it might be better to try to work with them instead? Besides, Lucy is different. She's going to want find a way to make this work, I'm sure of it. And if we can find a way back to each other, then all the better."

Her aunt was silent for a moment. "You're an adult now Riley and I cannot tell you what to do. I can only help guide you and hope that you will listen to my advice seeing as I want nothing but the best for you." Riley sighed loudly into the receiver, clearly unhappy with how this conversation was turning out. Choosing to ignore the obvious sound of annoyance being directed towards her, her aunt carried on. "And I cannot stress enough how much the Reynolds are not to be trusted, you need to put aside your childhood feelings and think like a family head on this matter."

"You're wrong, Lucy's different...we both are, we can make this work," Riley pleaded.

Her aunt sighed softly, and decided to leave the dissuading alone for now. "I hope for your sake you are correct, but don't get your hopes up too high. Do you have a plan to bring about this dream of lasting peace and prosperity?"

"As a matter of fact I do. I have a meeting with her in a few hours and I have confidence that if we can just sit down and talk it out logically we can come to an agreement." _Especially since that annoying bimbo won't be around to distract her. _

"Just like your father. Neither one of your ever had a lack of self confidence," her aunt chuckled softly. "Well I have to run dear, I have a meeting I must attend. I just wanted to check in and make sure you were alright."

Riley smiled at the phone fondly. "Thank you for worrying, but yes I am just fine." _And by later this afternoon I plan to be much better. _"I'll keep you posted on my progress."

Her aunt laughed softly. "See that you do, of course if you don't, you know I'll find out anyway." Before Riley could retort she was left with the dial tone ringing in her ear. She quickly placed a call to Frank.

"Bloody secret sources, I really do have to find out who that woman gets reports from," Riley muttered, as the other end of the line rang.

"Hello."

"Frank, get your ass to my office. I need to talk to you about something." Not needing a response, Riley slammed the receiver down with a little more force than necessary. She closed her eyes and ran a frustrated hand over them as she thought about what her aunt had said about the Reynolds.

Sure there was a time when she knew there was no chance of a merger being successful with the Reynolds, but that was when Lorenzo and her own dad were alive. Now, she had full confidence that once she proposed the idea, Lucy would see that it was a great opportunity for both families, and hopefully see it as an even better opportunity for them to rekindle their relationship. After all; they didn't have an ugly, messy breakup. Sure feelings were hurt, and Riley had always wondered if she should've done things differently, but what she did know was that she and Lucy had still loved each other deeply when it ended. So that had to count for something, right?

Riley was brought out of her thoughts by a short knock and Frank entering the office. "You needed to see me?" His voice was rough and scratchy, due in large part to the bright red laceration that ran along the length of his neck. The cut had since healed, but the emotional scar it represented was still fresh and ever present.

He'd been found face down, in a pool of blood alongside Quinton Schaffer, his throat similarly slashed. Frank had somehow managed to survive; Quinton did not. So while she should have been able to mourn her father's passing instead she had taken the reigns of the family empire and set about trying to exact retribution. The only problem was that she wasn't sure exactly who had ordered the hit. Though the hit had been up close and personal, the attacker had taken Frank out from behind, before he could get a look at him. Luckily for Frank they had been focused on Quinton, and hadn't ensured that they had finished the job on him.

The most logical originator of the hit, was of course the Reynolds family. Lorenzo was only dead a month before the strike against her father. Kill orders, especially against a rival family head, could only come down from the top. For rather obvious reasons she was hesitant to order the counter-hit without solid proof of Lucy's guilt. She had set her people to finding concrete evidence, either of Lucy's guilt, or that one of the lower ranks had seized the opportunity presented to create an opening for themselves. With the two strongest families at their weakest, this was the perfect opportunity for any smaller family to seize the opportunity for a takeover. And while Lucy had been out of commission, Riley had proved to be just as, if not more cunning and ruthless then her father had been where business was concerned. All in all, the search for her father's killer had turned up nothing, and while she was frustrated with the lack of progress, she was also relieved that she didn't have to confront evidence that may lead her to have to make an impossible decision.

"Yeah." Riley fixed a steely gaze on Frank. "Are you feeding information to my aunt?"

"No," Frank replied calmly, undeterred by the implied threat.

"Then how exactly does she know about Lucy being back and apparently everything else? You only report to me and she's on a need to know basis as far as business is concerned, it's that way for a reason." Riley loved her aunt, but damn it she was the family head, and her people needed to be loyal to her and only her.

"Your aunt is a very resourceful woman, Riley. And Lucy being back wasn't exactly supposed to be a secret, I'm sure every organization this of the Atlantic knew she was back the minute she stepped off her jet."

Riley only sighed, she knew Frank was right; the word had indeed traveled fast when Lucy had decided to return and finally take over as head of the Reynolds organization. "Yeah I guess you're right," she grumbled, not happy about it but willing to concede the point.

"Besides, she is still a part of this family, an integral part, might I add. Just because we've kept certain details about some of the ways we conduct business hidden, we can't conclude that she doesn't have the means to find out. She is still a Schaffer after all."

"Right," was all Riley could manage and then decided to move forward with other matters. "So have you found out any more information on the newest additions to the Reynolds' team?" She asked, hopeful that Frank had found something that she could take along with her to her meeting with Lucy later. The sooner she could get rid of the blonde the better.

"Unfortunately no, still just the basic background info that I gave you earlier. But I haven't stop looking. Trust me, if there's anything to be found, I'll get it. You just focus on keeping this business running smoothly and let me worry about the rough patches." He gave her an easy, confident smile. One that Riley had always trusted, she knew Frank was a go-getter and if there was anything on the little trampy blonde _April _that was moving in on her territory, Frank would surely uncover it.

She smiled back at him. "Thanks Frank, I always know I can count on you."

"Is there anything else you need?" He asked before turning to walk away.

"Well yes there is," Riley started. She'd mentioned to Frank about bringing in some of the lower families to merge with and form an alliance against the Reynolds. But that was when she thought Lucy was going to abandon the organization. When Scud and Dominique came back without her, although disappointed that Lucy hadn't shown up as well, Riley saw it as an opportunity to move in on the uncontested territories around the Reynolds, and eventually overthrow them.

When Lucy did eventually come back, after much debate, with herself mainly, Riley decided that she wasn't going to try to push Lucy out. It would be so much better to work with Lucy instead of against her. It would mean that the feud would never end and one thing Riley would not allow to happen on her watch was Lucy being harmed in any way. "About the alliance we talked about forming," Riley paused for effect. Frank only nodded, a sign that he was listening.

"Well I think we need to reevaluate exactly who the players in this would be." Riley leaned back in her chair and once again propped her feet against her desk. Her mischievous eyes sought out Frank's confused ones; over the last months they'd methodically selected the most appropriate families to bring into the alliance. They had spent hours deciding who could provide the best strongholds, which family had the most diverse properties and fronts, whose foot soldiers were the strongest and most willing to crack heads to get important information. Then of course you had your death squad, the men and women who wouldn't hesitate to kill when giving an order and make a body disappear without the notice of anyone. It had been a lot of hard work and planning, and Lucy's arrival had ruined it all.

"I thought we were in agreement on this Riley, it was just a matter of getting the families together to talk logistics."

Riley smiled sweetly at Frank, making him shift and lean against the desk. By the look she was given him, he already knew he wasn't going to like whatever she proposed. He simply waited for her to continue.

"I was thinking that we should try to form an alliance with the Reynolds' and merge with their organization instead." Riley watched Franks face for any reaction, but staying true to form, he gave up nothing.

"I really don't think that's a good idea Riley, you know we simply can't trust the Reynolds."

"God you sound like my aunt," Riley scoffed.

"That's because we know what we're talking about Riley, you were too young, or too caught up in your own life to witness the full effects of that damn feud. A lot of people were killed at the hands of the Reynolds, your father being one."

Riley stood up hastily at Frank's last words, her father meeting his end at the hands of a Reynolds; Lucy Reynolds, was a serious sore spot for her. It was a notion she wasn't ready to fully accept, not yet, not without proof. What she would be expected, as family head, to do if solid proof ever came to light, left a large pit in her stomach.

"Look Frank, I understand your concerns…for all of our safety, but that era is over. Lucy and I are going to make this work and I really need you on board with this." Riley looked at him sincerely.

Frank only sighed and shook his head slightly at the young Schaffer head. "You're the boss."

Riley beamed, it wasn't exactly the ringing endorsement she'd wanted, but it was certainly progress and most definitely not another lecture. "So I have a meeting with Lucy tonight and I'm going to throw in my proposal…" Riley went to finish and Frank was getting ready to counter with a few questions of this own when the intercom in Riley's office buzzed. "What?"

"Ma'am, there's a Bobby Matthews out in the garage to see you."

Riley scowled at the mentioned of Bobby's name and quickly turned to Frank. "What the fuck is he still doing here? I thought I told you to get rid of that asshole."

"Oh…Yeah…about that," Frank stumbled.

"Oh…Yeah…about that?" Riley mocked. "What the fuck Frank?"

"Sorry Riley, I just never got around to it, you know you've been keeping me busy. Plus, I haven't seen a lot of him lately."

Riley stood abruptly and rounded her desk, headed for the door, ready to confront the asshat that'd cost her 5 million dollars. She was frustrated and pissed, and he was just the person to unleash some of that on. Frank trailed after her, he knew that look, and it rarely ended with the person on the receiving end in one piece.

She strode with purpose to the garage and saw Bobby standing by the GT Carrerra that he'd roughed up in the last race. Riley stopped in her tracks and looked at the condition that her car was in, a stark contrast to the junked out condition it was in a few days earlier. She was still pissed, but now she was also curious. She took a deep breath to calm herself and looked over at Bobby with an impatient sneer. "Well?"

Bobby visibly wilted under the hostile gaze of the brunette. "Oh!" he finally squeaked out with a start. "See I knew you'd probably be pissed about the car, so I took it upon myself to have it fixed so you wouldn't have to worry about it."

Riley leveled a disbelieving look at the moron. _"_Gee, you trash a car valued at nearly half a million, you lose a race that cost me another five, and you think I would _probably _be pissed." Bobby wasn't the best or the brightest but even he couldn't miss the sarcasm dripping from Riley's every word.

"Oh, well, um, yeah about that," Bobby nervously stuttered. "See the thing is, um, you know, Max is like.."

Losing patience with his fumbling attempt at an explanation Riley cut him off. "You did this?" Surprise was evident in her voice. Even with his spectacular loss the night before she was willing to concede, if only to herself, that Bobby was a competent driver. He had simply been outclassed, of course that didn't mean he was off the hook. But she seriously doubted the dumb chunk of meat was skilled in body repair and paint.

"Well not exactly," he reluctantly admitted. Riley gave him an annoyed, expectant look at his lack of information. For a change he caught the clue before it hit him upside the head. "It was my girlfriend; she fixed it up at her shop. She's really really good with her hands," Bobby added with a hint of innuendo. Riley resisted the urge to roll her eyes, _God what girl would be stupid enough to date this neanderthal_.

"I can see that." Riley walked around the vehicle, giving it a visual inspection. The work was flawless, even knowing that the car had been trashed days before she could not find evidence of it now. The paint gleamed with a richness and depth that it hadn't even had when it rolled off the factory floor. She was about to ask who this girl was, when Bobby started rambling again, clearly unable to take the silence.

"Yeah, I just figured if she could work for Lucy Diamond, she could do us the occasional favor as well."

Riley's head snapped up at the mention of her ex. "What? Your girlfriend works for Lucy?"

"Yeah, Amy…the blonde hottie that partners with Max, that's my girl," Bobby beamed proudly.

Riley let out a loud laugh,_ Oh well doesn't that just fucking figure._ Here she was counting on Frank, her information guru, to get the lowdown on the girl, and this beef-stick had first hand Intel. Riley gave Bobby a hard slapped on the back and let out another laugh. "Matthews, I think you'll fit in around here just fine…for the moment anyway." She reached through the driver side window and pulled the keys from the ignition and threw them to Bobby. "Welcome to crew," she said with a grin and head back through the door she entered from. Turning back she left him with one final command. "You answer only to me, got it."

Bobby nodded his head enthusiastically and the grin on his face got wider as he watched Riley and Frank leave. Bobby puffed out his chest a little proud that he'd managed to officially become part of the Schaffer's crew, and not be outdone by the D.E.B.S. Now all he had to do was keep his eyes open and get enough information to blow this crime syndicate out of the water.

Riley went back to her office cheerier than she'd left it after her conversations with Frank and her aunt. Their unwillingness to get on board with her plan of a merger had deflated her a bit; she knew she would need both of them fully behind her in order to make it successful. She just had to stack all of the cards in favor of merging and get everyone to see the bigger picture. The much bigger picture as far as she was concerned was winning back the heart of Lucy, and now with Bobby having such intimate details on _Ally_, and the fact that she had a boyfriend period certainly shifted the ball in her court. She wondered idly if Lucy was aware of Bobby.

Taking a seat at her desk and adopting her thinking position, she felt as if things were going to be okay between her and Lucy. The business proposition was really just good sense, she was confident that Lucy, as well as her aunt and Frank, would eventually see her side of it. The blonde had a boyfriend, and while Riley couldn't fathom why someone would be with him over Lucy, she wasn't going to question her good luck. As hopeful as she was suddenly feeling about the future, she couldn't help but think back to the day when it had all fallen apart for them.

_

* * *

_

Lucy lay still on the hood of her Nissan 350Z as she waited for her girlfriend to arrive. Usually meeting Riley here would cause a pleasant nervousness in the pit of her stomach, which Lucy never seemed to get over even though they'd been secretly dating for two years. It wasn't quite nervousness that she felt, but more the butterflies in her stomach stirring in anticipation of seeing the girl she'd fallen head over heels for. Today though, what she felt was indeed a true nervousness that she felt deep down and instead of butterflies, she felt the increasingly urge to vomit over what she had to tell Riley and the potential danger it posed to their relationship.

_As Lucy heard the vehicle get closer and closer, she frowned slightly at the unfamiliar sound of an engine that she couldn't distinguish as one of Riley's. However, she knew it couldn't be anyone but Riley seeing as this was their spot where they always met every other night at 7:00. As the car came into view Lucy lifted herself to lean back against her elbows and watched as the car pulled alongside hers. Riley exited the vehicle and tilted her head slightly at her girlfriend as she stood in the doorway of the driver side with a blinding grin. _

"_Gift from daddy?" Lucy inquired as she slid down and stood upright to get a closer look at the candy apple red Toyota Supra._

_Riley beamed as she watched Lucy glance over her new ride with an approving glint in her eye. "It is," was all Riley said as Lucy continued her inspection coming to stop in front of the car. Lucy raised an expectant brow at Riley, who only rolled her eyes in faux annoyance and leaned over inside of the car and engage the hood release for the car. _

_Riley then went to stand behind Lucy and watched as she raised the hood on the vehicle to further continue her inspection. Lucy eyed the 3.4L engine with fervent interest. It had a 6 speed with a RPS Big Torque Header and 76GTS turbo, Lucy let out a low whistle that signaled she more than approved of what was under her girl's hood. Riley wrapped her arms around Lucy's waist and set her chin on her shoulder as she peered at the engine. _

"_You do realize you could probably smoke a bike with 1000cc with this bad boy?" Lucy asked peering over her shoulder at her girlfriend._

"_Uh huh," Riley nod enthusiastically with a wide grin. "You like?" She asked, knowing that her girlfriend was more than impressed with the car. If there was one thing Riley knew she could count on with Lucy, it was her knowledge of and appreciation for cars. It was one of the things that always attracted her to Lucy, but certainly not the one of thing that was on the forefront of that attraction._

_Lucy turned around in her arms and mirrored the Riley's actions and slid her arms around her waist and smiled at her girlfriend before she placed a soft, lingering kiss on her lips. "Yeah, I like," Lucy replied as she pulled back momentarily before bringing their lips together again for another soft kiss. Lucy tightened her embrace on Riley and pressed her lips into her harder turning the soft kiss they'd shared moments ago into one that was filled with need. _

_Riley moaned against Lucy's lips as she moved her arms from Lucy's waist and slowly slid them up her arms and wrapped them around her neck trying to bring her in closer. After a few moments both girls' pulled back as their chests heaved from trying to catch their breath. "Mmmm, I definitely like," Lucy grin mischievously at the temporarily stunned brunette in her arms._

_Riley shook her head and giggled slightly at her girlfriend. "Well I certainly hope that wasn't about the car." _

_Lucy grinned as she looked over to the car again. "Well it is a smoking hot ride."_

_Riley rolled her eyes as she playfully slapped Lucy's shoulder which earned her a smile from her lover. Slipping out of her arms, Riley turned back to the car. "So I was thinking that I could drive this baby in the Vegas race. That gives us a little over a month to break her in and work out any kinks that may occur with the handling." _

_Lucy had now gone back and was leaning against her own car with her arms folded tightly across her chest and watched her girlfriend fawn over her new toy, loving the way her eyes shone and how happy she was at the moment. But Lucy knew she had to tell Riley that she was leaving, and it was better to tell her sooner rather than later, but she just couldn't bring herself to say the words and break the happy mood she was in. Instead, Lucy sat there with a frown on her face, unable to reign in the scowling look that she was wearing when Riley finally turned to look at her._

"_Baby, what's wrong?" Riley asked, her brows furrowing with worry as she approached Lucy and ran her hands along her folded arms. Lucy only sighed heavily as she dropped her arms at her side and shook her head slightly, never taking her eyes off her girlfriend. Riley narrowed her eyes slightly at Lucy and took a couple of steps back. "Don't tell me you entered the race too?" _

_Lucy's look changed to a confused one at the other girl's questions but she didn't say anything. Riley threw her hands up in an exaggerated huff. "Lucy, I thought we agreed that we wouldn't do this…that we wouldn't compete against one another in the bigger circuits!" Riley turned away from Lucy as she continued her tirade. "We agreed that I would enter this one!" Riley finished with a whine and pout fully in place. Finding her girl's little mini tantrum endearing, Lucy couldn't help but smile as she pulled Riley back against her and wrapped her arms around her waist. Riley struggled weakly against her half-heartedly, not all that displeased with having Lucy pressed so closely against her, but continued to pout. "You promised."_

_Lucy chuckled as she rested her chin on Riley's shoulder and turned to press a kiss against the side of her neck. "Afraid you won't stand a chance with me in the race, huh?"_

"_Oh please…you know I can take you in a race any day Reynolds. I just would hate for to be insulted by losing to your hotter, younger, better driver of a girlfriend," Riley quipped._

_Lucy only chuckled again; knowing that usage of the last name meant the competitive, albeit playful, mode was on. "Hotter?" Lucy moved her arms so that her hands dragged across Riley's stomach and over her hips, where she let them rest. "I wouldn't be inclined to disagree, although it's debatable." Riley moved slightly, about to protest but was halted as Lucy pulled her back roughly and tightened her grip on her hips. Riley gasped as she turned her head slightly trying to look at her girlfriend, but Lucy continued, "Younger? Only by a couple of months, which by the way you know you love dating an older woman." Lucy leaned in bringing their lips together for a lingering kiss. _

_Pulling back slightly, Lucy continued, "And better driver?" Riley raised a brow in anticipation of what Lucy was about to say next. Lucy answered with a raised brow of her own as she paused for effect, but soon broke into one of her million dollar smiles. "Well let's just say I plead the fifth on that one on the grounds that I want to keep having sex with you." _

_Riley scoffed playfully as she once again tried to pull away from Lucy ineffectively as Lucy once again wrapped her arms around her waist. She laughed as she rested her chin on Riley's shoulder again and Riley wrapped her arms around Lucy's and rested her head against hers. "But no baby, I'm not in the race and I know you're gonna kick some major ass in it." _

_Riley turned her head and placed a soft kiss on Lucy's temple. "Thank you."_

_Lucy sighed heavily, it was now or never. "It's just too bad I won't be there to see you do it."_

_At Lucy's words, Riley turned in her arms and was met with sullen brown eyes. "Wh-what are you talking about," Riley stumbled. Lucy was quiet again as she dropped her gaze from Riley's, unable to look her in the eyes now. Riley ducked her head forcing Lucy to look at her and was hit by the sadness in Lucy's eyes. She brought her hands up to cup Lucy's cheeks and leaned in and kissed her softly as she slowly ran her thumbs across them trying to soothe her girlfriend. "Please tell me what you mean Lucy." _

_Lucy closed her eyes briefly before opening them again, "I'm leaving for Tokyo in three days."_

_Riley's eyes widened. "And you're just now telling me?" Deep down though, Riley knew Lucy leaving in three days wasn't that big of a deal, with the line of work their respective families were in coupled with them both being involved in the racing circuit, they sometimes had to leave on a drop of a dime. But the fact that the race was next month and the fact that Lucy looked so sad now at having to tell her, she knew something wasn't right. "How long will you be gone?" She asked quietly as she drew her bottom lip between her teeth trying to strangle the sob that was threatening to surface._

"_I just found out, but…" Lucy shifted her eyes again but immediately brought them back to look at Riley as she felt her shift her face that was still being held. "I'm going to head the overseas operation there, so I guess it's…" Lucy trailed off._

"_You guess it's what Lucy?" Riley asked with a commanding tone._

"_I guess it's permanent."_

_Riley's felt her heart plummet into her stomach and her hands slid from Lucy's face. She forcefully pulled herself from Lucy's embrace this time and took a few stumbling steps away from her. "You could've said no," Riley added shakily as the tears that burned her eyes started to fall._

_Lucy felt the pang in her own heart as she tried to reach for Riley but she pulled away from her. "Baby I tried, I swear, but you know it's not that easy in this business and it's just permanent for now but not forever…" Lucy added, hoping it would soften the blow, but knowing that nothing short of her saying that it wasn't true could. "I mean it doesn't have to change anything Riley, we can still do this."_

"_How?" Riley shook her head vigorously and roughly wiped away the tears. "How can we still be together with you thousands of miles away?" Lucy went to speak but was cut off by Riley. "It's not exactly like I can get on a plane once I've explained to daddy that I'm going to see my girlfriend who now lives in Tokyo, and oh by the way is the daughter of a family that you hate!"_

_Lucy rushed towards Riley. "We can tell them, about us I mean, we can tell them and then it'll be out in the open and then we can see each other when we want," Lucy tried to reason._

"_No we couldn't Lucy," Riley stated dryly and bitterly. "It wouldn't just be that easy to see each when we felt like it…it's not like you'll be a few states over, you'll be in another damn country. Besides, you know there's no way we can tell our fathers about us, there's no way in hell they would allow it. It's one of the reasons we've kept it a secret for this long."_

_Lucy knew that if they continued on with this line of conversation that nothing good would come of it, but her hot temper had been flared and now she was just getting pissed at Riley for shooting down every attempt she was making to keep them together. "Well fuck Riley." Lucy threw her hands up and turned away. "It seems that you're not even willing to give it a chance…like us being this big secret is the way it was always gonna be, how you always want it to be." Lucy turned back around to a now equally pissed off Riley._

"_Oh fuck you Lucy!" Riley told her, getting into her face, "We've been together for two years, and if I remember correctly we both agreed that it was a bad idea to say anything about our relationship."_

_Lucy sighed heavily as she willed herself to calm down knowing that Riley was right. "I know," she said softly as she closed her eyes and heavily sat back against her car and put her head in her hands. It had been a decision that they both had made when they realized that they wanted to be together no matter what. They just never banked on that "no matter what" being either of them moving away. They could deal with and work around seeing each other when they lived in the same city, but an ocean apart? How could they make that work? Especially when it was forbidden._

_Riley went to Lucy and slid her arms around her neck, feeling Lucy wrap her arms around her waist. "I love you," Riley told Lucy as she looked deeply into her eyes. _

_This brought a genuine smile, albeit a small one to Lucy's face. "I love you too." _

_They held onto each other tightly as they embraced, knowing that the other's heart was breaking just as much and knowing neither could do anything to stop it from happening. Riley then crashed her lips against Lucy's as if her life depended on it and Lucy returned the kiss with just as much fervor. Riley brought a hand up to tangle within Lucy's soft, dark tresses trying to pull her in closer afraid that if she let go she would disappear. Riley broke the kiss, panting heavily knowing that it's exactly how it would be. Lucy would indeed disappear after she let go, so she held on tighter and she pressed her forehead against Lucy's as she closed her eyes and breathed in the girl's scent, trying to imprint it in her memory._

"_Come with me," Lucy spoke softly, watching as Riley's soulful doe eyes opened and pierced her own. Riley looked as if she was thinking about it, then Lucy felt more than seen Riley shake her head at her request then closed her eyes. "C'mon Riley," Lucy coaxed, "come with me…what do you have to lose?"_

_Riley sighed, opening her eyes as she pulled back slightly, "Everything Lucy, I have everything to lose. I can't just up and leave my family, and for what…to be your arm candy? While you're out there making a name for yourself in this business I get to do what? Sit around and be Lucy Diamond's girlfriend?" It was more of a statement rather than a question._

_Lucy shook her head. "No, no…we'd be equals, we always were, always will be."_

_Riley only smiled at Lucy's words, knowing that that she did mean them despite the fact that they were on opposite sides of a family feud, neither girl ever acted as if they were better than the other. "We're equals because we're on opposing sides Lucy, if I were to go with you; we both know that'd change. And let's not forget the fact that my dad would never allow that to happen and neither would yours."_

"_So let's just run away," Lucy tried again, at this point she wasn't beyond any suggestion that would keep her and Riley together. "Let's just leave all this family business bullshit behind and run away somewhere and just be us."_

_Riley laughed softly at her girlfriend, falling more in love with her at her willingness to try anything to keep them together. However, deep down Riley knew that Lucy loved the life that being a part of the criminal underground provided as much as she did. Even more, she loved her father and would never want to disappoint him, which is why she knew that there was no solution for them except to let each other go. _

"_We can't Lucy…" Although it broke her heart even more to do so, Riley pulled herself away from Lucy. "You know our dad's would find us wherever we went. Besides, I don't think I can just give it up…even for you. I'm going to be head of the family one day Lucy and I can't just turn my back on that…on my family."_

_Lucy looked as though the wind had been sucked from her lungs at Riley's words. Here she was standing in front of the girl she loved, ready to give it all up for… her family, her life. In return, said girl was telling pretty much telling her that she wasn't worth the same love and devotion. "I love you Lucy…you know that right?" Lucy could only stand there, rooted to the spot as Riley's words floated through her mind as if she was hearing them from a dream. Riley only sighed at Lucy's lack of response. _

"_I'm sorry." Those were the last words that Lucy heard from Riley as she watched her back further away and move towards the driver side of her car. After one last, longing look, Riley got in her car and drove away._

* * *

A knock on her office door broke Lucy from her not so pleasant memories. Her meeting with Riley was soon, and naturally it brought a ton of memories, one in particular that she never could seem to shake. _The breakup. _It was the one that started the beginning of the end of their relationship. It was a horrible and heartbreaking time for Lucy, and for years after she'd resented Riley for not even trying to make it work. Time, and the buffer of being in a new country provided, Lucy's wounds had eventually healed; the plethora of willing natives had also helped her on her road to recovery.

However, she was back and now and faced with her beautiful ex once again. Lucy wasn't sure whether it was nostalgia that drew her back to Riley, or the fact that she could still be in love with her. Lucy frowned slightly at the latter; she definitely didn't need her ex-love complicating things. She had a business to run and another girl to charm. Albeit, said girl, was a whole can of worms on her own. Lucy just couldn't shake the desire that she wanted to know Amy, and not just in the biblical sense. She just didn't need or want the emotional baggage that was bound to come into play. Ever since Riley, becoming emotionally entangled had become strictly off limits.

Hearing another knock resound on her door, Lucy cleared her throat and shook her head to clear some of the fog that still remained as she called out for whoever was there to enter. Scud poked his head around the door jam.

"Hey Luce, I just thought I would let you know that Riley just pulled up at the front gate." He met her eyes squarely; marshalling his nerve to bring up a subject that he knew would not be well received. "You know it's not too late to cancel this meeting, or at least set it up somewhere else. I just don't like the idea of giving our biggest enemy this kind of access."

Lucy let out a sigh of annoyance. "Access to what Scud? It's not like I'm giving her a layout of the compound or an encryption key to the database. We've been over this already; I'm meeting with Riley here. There's hardly anything that she'll be able to do in the heart of the compound." She paused briefly, adopting a deceptively mild tone. "Or perhaps you don't think I am capable of handling myself?"

"Lucy that's not it," Scud quickly reassured her. "I just don't trust her."

"Scud you don't trust anyone," Lucy replied sardonically.

"Hey, in this business it pays to be paranoid. Besides, the two of you have a very…complex history; she may try to take advantage of that. If you insist on meeting with her here can you at _least _have someone who's impervious to your past in the room with you two?" Scud implored.

Lucy rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Scud, just drop it. It's just business, I assure you everything will be fine. Don't you have someone you need to escort here?" Lucy grinned at her friend, playfully. "Unless of course you trust one of your men to search her for weapons, I mean I'm sure they'll do a fine job?" She left the statement hanging as a question.

Scud's expression clouded over. "You've won this round Luce, but don't think I've let this drop completely. You need to take your security much more seriously. I'll be back in a few." Turning, her security chief exited the room, and Lucy settled back in her desk chair to wait.

A few minutes stretched into closer to fifteen before Lucy heard a knock on her office door. Once again calling for whoever was at the door to enter, Lucy deliberately adopted a relaxed posture. _Yup, not a care in the world. Just another day at the office. _

Instead of poking his head in, Scud swung the door wide and gestured for Riley to precede him into the room. Lucy watched as Riley sent a quick appraising look around the room. When they were involved neither one of them had ever dared to meet at their respective homes, so this was the first time Riley had ever been "behind enemy lines".

Riley wasted little time surveying the room and quickly zeroed in on her target. Lucy met the other girl's direct stare and found herself unconsciously returning the small half grin that played across her ex's lips.

"Well I don't think I've ever had that thorough of a security screening. Although there may have been a _few_ spots Scud overlooked if you want to check them yourself." Riley let her half grin blossom into a full blown smirk. Raising her arms up and out she allowed for a completely unobstructed view of her body. The skin tight fit of her outfit left it almost impossible for her to be smuggling any weapons.

Lucy let her eyes rake deliberately over the other girl, taking her time to enjoy the scenery. She finally met Riley's eyes and quirked an eyebrow. "Call me crazy Riley but I think the only way we would be able to find anything Scud may have missed would be with a strip search."

"Well you know what they say Luce. You can never be too careful. I would happily submit to any kind of search you wanted to conduct it if put you at ease."

Lucy bit off a laugh. "Somehow I don't think putting me at ease is quite what you had in mind with that offer."

A slight pout formed on Riley's lips. "Well you can't fault a girl for trying."

"Unbelievable," Scud muttered quietly, though not quietly enough to avoid Lucy's attention. Having momentarily forgotten that he was still in the room, Lucy once again directed her attention to her second in command.

"Scud, I think we're all set here. You can go."

"Um, are you sure boss? I wouldn't mind sticking around, in case you needed anything..." Scud's eyes shifted indiscreetly to Riley.

"Out. Now." Lucy cut him off before he could get on a roll. Knowing that Lucy wouldn't stand for being questioned in front of a rival, he left without putting up his usual fight. Lucy waited until he had closed the door behind him to once again direct her attention back to Riley.

"Have a seat." Lucy gestured to the chairs arranged in front of her desk, as she walked around behind it and took her chair. Riley trailed her gaze over the office once again before sprawling in her seat.

"You know Lucy this isn't exactly the style I pictured you having in your office, it's soooo Tony Montana," Riley teased knowing Lucy would find the humor in both their favorite fictional gangster.

Instead, Lucy cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "It's how my Dad left it. I haven't gotten around to changing it." She paused briefly and looked around the room. Her eyes were slightly unfocused, as though she were lost in memories. "Not even sure I will."

Riley winced at her faux pas. "Shit, I'm sorry."

Lucy waved off the apology. "No worries. It's not like you could have known."

"Still, if you ever want to talk about it or anything, I'm here." Lucy met Riley's gaze, and could easily read the sincerity behind the offer. A part of her wanted to grab onto the offer. She hadn't really had anyone to talk to about her father's death and knowing that Riley had lost her father in a similar brutal manner, Lucy knew that she could relate.

Sure there was Dom and Scud, and while she loved them like siblings, they were just too close to the situation and had their own grief to deal with. As much as she would love to talk to someone, Riley just didn't seem the right person to unload too. If it had been years before when they were still as close as they had been, Lucy knew she wouldn't have hesitated to talk to Riley about anything, but things had changed in a big way and she found that even though deep down she wanted too, she just couldn't trust Riley anymore.

"Thanks, but I'm fine. And as much as I appreciate the offer I know that's not why you set up this meeting." Lucy laced her fingers together and rested them on her stomach before leaning back in her chair. "So tell me Riley, what can I do for you?"

For a moment, Riley looked as though she was going to protest the change in topic and press forward in attempt to get Lucy to open up to her, but from her own unwillingness to talk about her fathers' death to anyone, she thought better of pressing the subject.

Lucy held her breath, not really wanting to get into a heavy discussion at the moment. Her normal defenses were already pretty shaky around the other girl, so the last thing she needed was to throw a heart to heart about their dead fathers into the mix. When she saw a slow grin appear on Riley's face she slowly exhaled the breath that she'd been holding.

"Would you like me to list the professional or personal?"

"Let's just start with the professional and see how that goes?" Feeling a little more at ease, Lucy easily returned the other girls smile. One of the things that she missed most about Riley was their ability to banter back and forth. Regardless of the years in between, they had both fallen into old habits and had been almost constantly flirting with each other since this meeting had started.

Riley let out a put upon sigh. "Well that certainly was the wrong choice; the personal would be so much more appealing," Riley paused before adopting a slightly more serious expression, "but if you insist…I think we should join forces."

Lucy raised both of her eyebrows in surprise. "Well you certainly cut right to the chase don't you?"

"I've have never seen the value in beating around the bush. If you want something go for it." The heat in Riley's gaze left little doubt that she was referring to more than a simple business proposition. Lucy felt her skin flush slightly under the other girls penetrating gaze.

"Mmm, yeah I do seem to remember that you were always very, um, _direct_ in going after what you wanted." Lucy smirked at the other girl, letter her know that she wasn't talking about just business anymore either.

Catching the meaning in Lucy's words, Riley leaned forward and rested her forearms on the edge of the desk. Lucy gaze shifted downward, being drawn to the cleavage that was now on direct display. She felt herself leaning forward to mirror Riley's pose, now looking directly into the girl's eyes. _Two could play this game. _She felt a thrill of triumph when she saw Riley flick her gaze down before raising her eyes to meet hers again.

"If I remember correctly you always liked my straight forwardness." Riley managed to get out a little more assertive than she felt. Under Lucy's intense gaze she felt naked, musing that she wouldn't mind being exactly just that with her ex lover.

"And if I remember correctly Riley, there was never anything _straight_ about you." Lucy baited, and then briefly wondered why she was doing so. Less than twenty minutes ago, she was lecturing Scud on how this was strictly a business meeting. Now here she was overtly flirting with Riley, what the hell was she doing!

Riley chuckled at the comment, although the direction in which the conversation was turning was anything but humorous. The suggestiveness with which Lucy spoke was enough to send a shock right to her core. She sat back against the chair trying to calm herself. "So I see we're on to the personal now."

Just as Lucy was about to respond to Riley's comment the intercom on her desk gave a shrill buzz. She leaned back in her chair and sent it an aggrieved look. Only _one_ person would be using that to interrupt this meeting. Stabbing a finger at the talk button in annoyance she opened up the channel.

"What do you want Scud?" Lucy was sure the annoyance was clear to read in her voice. Based on the chipper reply from Scud he just didn't care.

"Just wanted to give you a heads up on your next appointment, they should be here in about twenty. Scud out." Lucy was chagrinned to realize that she had forgotten entirely about her upcoming meeting with Max and Amy. While Scud's interruption had been irritating it had been timely. Her conversation with Riley had been on a path to a destination she wasn't sure she could deal with right now.

"I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered." Riley broke into her silent musing. Lucy flicked her eyes back to the brunette and noticed the disappointed look on her face.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I mean you book another meeting so quickly after mine. Either you wanted an excuse to shoo me out the door. Or…" Riley let the statement trail off.

"Or?" Lucy questioned back, never one to wait patiently.

"Or…you weren't sure you could trust yourself if you were left alone with me for too long."

Lucy couldn't help but laugh. "Oh god the ego! I'm glad to see that hasn't changed in all these years. In fact it was neither of those," Lucy easily lied. "I've just been busy as hell since I got back and have had to cram all sorts of meetings together. I'm sure you know what it means to have to try to utilize time to your advantage now."

With being a newly appointed head of an organization, Lucy certainly thought Riley would understand the need to manage time and wouldn't continue to question her on her motives for such a brief meeting. Besides, she knew that once the meeting hit the thirty minute mark, whether she had another meeting set up or not, Scud would continue to find ways of interrupting as a way to continuously check on her.

Riley looked as though she didn't quite buy the explanation but chose to let it go uncontested. "Well you being so busy is just another reason we should join forces. We can split the workload between us."

"Another reason? Riley you haven't even given me a first reason yet," Lucy protested.

"I thought that would've been obvious Lucy. We've always been perfect for each other. The only thing that kept us apart were our families, and they are no longer an obstacle." Lucy frowned slightly at the other girls phrasing. Riley just continued on, oblivious to Lucy's displeasure. "Each of us alone is powerful. Together we would be unstoppable."

"Riley a lot of time has passed since we were kids. You don't know me anymore than I know you, we are different people now. I think it would be premature to just jump in and merge everything. The logistics alone would take ages to work out." Lucy sighed heavily, not wanting to voice the real reason a merger would never work out, but knowing she had to get riley to see reason. "Besides, we'd probably spend more time trying to keep our respective families from killing each other." The bloody rivalry between the two families had always been a sore spot for both of them, especially during the time when they were together. "While the reasons for the feud between our families aren't our own, that doesn't mean the friction doesn't still exist."

"I'm not saying we should run out tomorrow and merge the families, Luce. But I just think we need to keep it as an eventual goal. Take it slow. Start to collaborate on certain aspects of the business and see where it goes from there."

"Take it slow?" Lucy repeated incredulously. "Riley, you've been interfering with our business on the construction front, plus taking over businesses near the ones we own…all within a couple of months and you call that taking it slow?"

"Lucy look, I only went after those venues because I thought you weren't coming back. It was a good strategic move on my part and you know it!" Lucy only looked on with an emotionless expression. "C'mon Lucy, what would you have done?" Riley reasoned.

Lucy met the other girls gaze, trying to see if this was all part of some larger plot. She knew if it were her she probably wouldn't have done things any differently. It was a dog eat dog world they live in and any sign of weakness was a chance to capitalize. Lucy continued to gaze at Riley, but all she could see was a sincere desire to make her proposal work. Deep down, she wanted to believe that Riley wouldn't purposely hurt her, and for a while she really did contemplate not coming back. She was semi tempted to just agree with what Riley wanted. After all, that's how it'd been before when they were together, she never really could say no to the girl and even now she found it hard to turn her away.

However, they weren't teens nor were they together anymore and she could indeed turn down the proposal. After all, it was Riley who'd turned her down all those years ago when she'd pleaded for her to stay and try to make things work. It was Riley who turned down the idea of them being equals, instead opting for the idea that Lucy just wanted her for 'arm candy'. It was Riley who chose the life that she had inherited now, when it was Lucy who wanted to run away and leave it all behind to be together.

While a part of her liked the idea of sharing something such as a common goal and lifestyle with Riley, a larger part balked at the idea of sharing control with the girl who'd broken her heart and torn her world apart when she'd offered to give it all up for her. Lucy felt a certain satisfaction of this time being the one to shoot down the notion of her and Riley being together, professionally and intimately. _Bitter much?_

"Riley, I appreciate the offer…"

"But?" Riley asked.

"…but, I can't just abandon everything my father worked for."

"Lucy be reasonable. This wouldn't be abandoning his work. It would be making it stronger, making sure that it was bullet proof..," Riley persisted, determined to sway the other girl.

"Look, I'm not ruling out us working together on some stuff. Whatever feud our fathers' had died with them and there is no reason that we can't be cooperative. I'm just not ready to commit to a partnership at this point."

Riley sat back in her chair and crossed her arms across her chest. While she wanted to continue to argue with Lucy about this she knew that the more she pressed the issue, the more likely that Lucy would pull away even more.

"I guess that's all I can ask at this point," Riley stated, clearly not pleased with the outcome of the conversation. "Well since you're so _busy, _I guess that's all for now." She pushed herself to her feet. "Walk me out?"

"Of course." Lucy got to her feet and walked around to the front of her desk to stand beside Riley.

"Oh and Lucy I just have one more point for your to consider as you debate the pros and cons of this possible merger," Riley said stepping closer to Lucy in the process, clearly not done with pushing the issue just yet.

"Yeah? And what would…" but before Lucy could finish she felt Riley grab onto the collar of her shirt and jerk her forward. She was momentarily alarmed but her brain didn't have time to process any kind of protest at being pulled flush up against her stunning ex. Not wasting any time, Riley leaned closed the few inches separating them and joined their lips.

Lucy could only moan into the contact as a flood of memories assaulted her. She wrapped her arms around Riley's waist and pulled them impossibly closer. She could feel the other girls lips curve into a slight smile at the move, but was too lost in the feelings the kiss evoked to worry about looking too eager.

Some dim part of her mind was sending her a message that this was a bad idea, and she hesitantly tried to pull away. However, Riley had other ideas, she lightly bit Lucy's bottom lip before sucking it into her mouth while her hands slid around to Lucy's back and tugged on the hem of her shirt, eager to get to the skin beneath. All protest from Lucy was quickly halted as she was hit with a flood of hormones from Riley's familiar touch. Lucy groaned into the other girl's mouth when she felt her fingers dig into the base of her spine, firmly kneading the flesh, before trailing lightly up and down her lower back.

Surrendering to her desire, Lucy spun Riley around and started walking her backwards towards the nearest available surface. Once she felt the other girls progress stop, she wasted no time in pushing her backwards until she was sprawled across her desk. Riley didn't protest the action and just continued to deepen the kiss they shared, not wanting to break contact.

Lucy happily followed the brunette onto the desk, crawling up after her until she was straddling Riley's thighs. After another few moments of deeply kissing, Lucy reluctantly broke contact. Riley gave a slight grumble from her action, but it didn't last long as felt Lucy's lips against the soft skin beneath her ear.

Taking her time, Lucy trailed a string of wet kisses down her neck and across her collar bone. She balanced herself on one hand as she brought the other to the buttons running down the front of Riley's top and slowly began to unbutton them. The only sound that could be heard in the room was the labored breathing of both brunettes. Well, the only sound until the shrill buzz of the intercom once again intruded.

Both girls were startled apart by the sudden interruption. _"_Fuck me"_, _Lucy cursed as she squeezed her eyes shut trying to get her hormones in check. She wasn't sure whether she should go find Scud and murder him for interrupting, or hug him for stopping her from making what could have been a very big mistake.

"That's what I was trying to do," Riley laughed at Lucy's obvious frustration. "Just ignore it," she told her as one of her hands crept past the waistband on the back Lucy's pants.

Lucy sighed deeply; trying to compose herself clearly was not working with said mistake underneath her with one hand slightly down the back of her pants, and the other under her shirt. She started to lean back to put some distance between her and Riley, but immediately felt Riley's hands glide up her back and try to pull her closer.

Lucy bit off a groan. "No, I can't…" Lucy trailed off looking down into sultry brown eyes. Closing her eyes quickly from the temptation, she sagged forward and let her head bang onto the desk, coming to rest right next to Riley's. A move she didn't think through to clearly as she inhaled the other girls scent and started to turn her head into her neck before the dreaded intercom buzzed again.

Cursing, she turned her head in the other directed and shot a hand out to violently smash onto the button. "What!" The almost lethal levels of frustration she was feeling must have come across loud and clear because she thought she heard Scud gulp.

"Um I just wanted to let you know that your other guests were here. I'll bring them up whenever you are ready for them."

_Shit_, Lucy cursed internally once again, she hadn't expected for Riley and Amy to intersect each other, she had fully intended to have Riley out of the door before the D.E.B. showed up, but with recent…activities, she knew she was cutting it close and mused that she'd just have to show Riley a different way out. "Christ, okay give me a second. I'll be down when I finish up a few things with Riley." She quickly stabbed the button again, ending the connection.

"Only a second Lucy? I seem to remember it took us a bit longer than that." Riley joked from her position on the desk under Lucy.

Deciding that resting on the other girl was not going to draw this little session to a close anytime soon, she reluctantly pushed herself backwards until she was upright. Another movement she hadn't thought about to clearly because it brought their lower halves into a more intimate position. Riley moaned and brought her hands to rest on Lucy's hips and shifted slightly underneath her.

Lucy bit off a moan of her own at the contact and looked down at Riley biting her lip in frustration, her upright position only allowing her a clearer view of Riley's tempting figure. Riley must have read the look on her face because she quickly reached up and wrapped her hand around the back of Lucy's neck, pulling her back down.

Riley brought her lips mere inches from Lucy's, softly brushing over them as she spoke, "Cancel the meeting Luce. I promise you won't regret it."

Lucy groaned, knowing that as much as her libido was screaming at her to give in, she knew she couldn't, hooking up with her ex before anything had been resolved was just a bad, bad idea. Plus, there was other business that she needed to attend to. Other business that included a blonde that caused a tinge of guilt to shoot through Lucy as she stared down at Riley. Lucy shook her head with a sigh as she finally pushed herself completely off of the desk, standing between Riley's legs.

"Are you sure you can't be convinced to cancel?" Riley asked as she reached out for one of Lucy's hands, frowning slightly as Lucy pulled away.

Lucy took one last look at the sexually charged brunette on her desk that was now leaning up on her elbows with a slight pout. _I must have lost my fucking mind_, she thought as she turned and ran a frustrated hand over her face. Turning back around, Lucy offered her hand down to Riley. "Maybe some other time. I really do have stuff I need to take care of."

Riley ignored the outstretched hand and pushed herself upright with no assistance. "Maybe some other time?" Riley asked, incredulously. "What makes you think this is an open ended offer. I tend not to react too favorably to being blown off."

"This isn't a blow off Riley. Do you really think it's a good idea to jump into this," Lucy motioned between the two of them to emphasize what _this_ meant, "with so much still unresolved?"

"I guess not. But I'm still not happy with this." Riley persisted.

"Noted." Lucy sent the other girl a charming grin. "Now come on let me walk you out."

The walk to the front door was conducted in silence, neither of them having much to say. As they rounded the corner to approach the entryway to the front door, Lucy caught sight of the pair standing next to Scud that was waiting for her. Having forgotten about trying to maneuver Riley to a different exit to keep her from running into Amy, she'd managed to run right smack into her. _Oh shit. Not good, so not good._

Knowing that it was too late to find an alternate route, Lucy kept walking towards the door, refusing to stop. Lucy heard Riley scoff next to her, she figured she'd also noticed who was waiting. Lucy could almost feel the tension that radiated off of Riley as she stopped and grabbed hold of her hand, tugging her back a few steps. Lucy turned to look at a now smirking Riley. "A business appointment huh?"

Lucy fought the urge to fidget under the other girls gaze. She didn't owe anything to Riley, not after all this time. "That's right," Lucy told her, keeping her expression neutral. She turned briefly to look at the pair and noticed that her guests had noticed her and Riley standing there...holding hands! Lucy quickly let go of Riley's hand and turned to look at her with a disapproving glare. She then turned her head back to the direction of her guest so she could gauge their reaction.

Max wore the same insolent look that usually graced her features. Her closed off expression not letting any of her thoughts on Lucy's companion slip. The blonde standing beside her was another story altogether. Even from a few dozen feet away Lucy could see the storm starting to brew in the other girls blue eyes.

For the first time since she had come up with her master plan concerning the D.E.B. she was starting to have her doubts. _I really do not need all this drama. _Lucy sighed and turned to say good-bye to Riley.

"Riley, thanks for stopping by. I'll give what we talked about some thought and I'll be in touch." Lucy tried to keep her voice as emotionless as possible, though her pulse was racing and she couldn't tell whether it was from the encounter her and Riley had in her office, or from the encounter she was about to have with the perturbed blonde.

"Oh it was my pleasure, Luce." Riley reached out and ran her fingers down Lucy's forearm in a stroking gesture. "And when you finally come to that decision you can call me anytime. Day or night." Lucy knew Riley was laying it on thick purely for show, and for a brief moment she was afraid that Riley would lean in to kiss her good-bye. She wasn't sure if Amy or Scud would be more pissed off by that action.

Instead she removed her hand from Lucy's arm, and with one more heated glance, turned and walked towards the front door, throwing a smirk over her shoulder in Amy's direction before she exited. Lucy let out a discreet sigh of relief that things hadn't turned ugly, and then she turned to great her guests.

"Hey guys." Max stood with her arms crossed across her chest, the only sign of emotion on her face was one slightly raised eyebrow. Amy continued to shoot daggers from her eyes but Lucy decided to just ignore that for now. "Glad you could make it. Follow me we can talk in my office." Not waiting for a reply Lucy spun on her heel and started to lead the pair down the hallway.

As Lucy entered her office with the pair in tow, her eyes widened slightly at its disheveled state. "Shit," she mumbled to herself as she scrambled over and picked up a cluster of papers that had fallen on the floor, setting them on the desk. As she rounded the desk she braved a look towards Amy and saw that the display did nothing to appease the blonde, it only appeared to fuel her anger. Once again deciding that now was not the time to reflect on the bitter emotions she was getting from Amy, Lucy took her seat. It was time for business.

"Have a seat," she motioned with her hand and watched as the two as they did so. She also watched as Scud entered and was about to take a seat as well. "Umm…," she looked at him questioningly. Scud paused mid-action and brought himself back to a standing position.

"Right…I'll just be out here." He pointed over his shoulder as he backed out of the doorway. "You know, _not_ doing my job."

"Oh, Scud?" Lucy called out to him before he could shut the door. He eagerly poked his back in, eyebrows raised in anticipation. "Let Dom know we're ready." Scud's brows furrowed and his mouth opened, but quickly shut as he bit off the protest he was about to make at the sight of the pointed look Lucy shot him. He simply nodded as he closed the door.

Lucy turned her attention back to the pair in front of her. "We'll get started as soon as Dom gets here." Max gave a short nod and Amy just sat there still seething. Lucy took in the defensive posture; she sat with her arms folded across her chest and her right leg swung over her left. She watched as Amy's leg slightly swayed up and down, a clear sign of her agitated state. She couldn't help but stare at them, the short skirt that the leggy blonde was wearing leaving them on full display for her appraising eyes. Lucy licked her lips slowly as she thought about running her palms over them and letting her hands slide under the skirt.

Amy shifted in her seat and uncrossed her legs, drawing Lucy's gaze to her face. She gave Lucy a scowling look of distaste as she sat up straighter in the chair. Amy couldn't help but feel a little over exposed at the moment, granted the short garment had served its original intended purpose of capturing the brunette's attention. However, those intentions were shot to hell by the display from Riley and the clear sign that more than talking had been going on in Lucy's office.

_Damn, I really need to keep my hormones in check! _Lucy thought as she only shrugged sheepishly at Amy for gawking and was more than relieved Max cleared her throat to say something. That is, until she actually spoke. "So Lucy, what'd you do, give the cleaning crew a day off or something?" Max goaded motioning to the floor at some of papers that Lucy had failed to pickup in her hasty attempt at a cover up.

Looking back up at Lucy, Max broke out into a full grin as she took pleasure in the criminal's obvious discomfort. Lucy narrowed her eyes at Max as she racked her brain for a suitable reply, particularly one that wouldn't further throw the fuming blonde into a tailspin. Luckily Dominique chose that moment to walk into the room and the relief on Lucy's face couldn't have been more visible.

"So what'd I miss?" Dominique asked as she sauntered over and hoisted herself on the edge of the desk. She threw a confused look to Lucy as she took in the papers and folders that were gathered haphazardly on the desk. She knew Lucy was a stickler for order and found the messy appearance odd. "What the hell happened in here?" The question obviously directed at Lucy.

"Probably more than you want to know," Amy chimed in answering both of Dominique's question, and speaking for the first time Lucy noted.

Lucy snorted at the comment. "You clearly don't know Dom," she mumbled, knowing that Dominique would be all ears at her describing how she almost nailed Riley on the desk.

"What was that?" Amy cut her eyes back to Lucy, whose eyes widened at her comment being overheard.

Lucy seemed to visibly deflate as she sat back against her chair. "Nothing."

Dominique threw another confused look at her friends' submissive action and made a mental note to question her uncharacteristic behavior. On the side, Max shot Amy a look of her own, one that screamed _'back down soldier'. _Amy knew the look well; she'd seen it on a few occasions and only rolled her eyes in response.

More than eager to move forward from the charades, Lucy decided it was time to get down to business. "How about we get started," she said nodding in Dominique's direction.

"Right," Dom began, "at 2400 hours a week from next Friday we're expecting a shipment at the docks, it should be a simple grab and go…but in this business, you can never be sure."

_Now we're getting to the good stuff_, Max thought, knowing from experience that criminals tended to use the waterway as a mean of smuggling, especially when it was a big shipment. Keeping her cool, and displaying more of her expected resistance, she leaned forward slightly, "Two questions…one, what is it you expect us to do? Two, whatever it is, you have a lot of people on your payroll already, why do you need us?"

Dominique rolled her eyes at a still defiant Max. "Need you? We don't." She simply stated and paused.

Max sat back at Dominique's word and crossed her arms. "What a way to recruit," she replied dryly.

Dom chuckled, "Well it's not a point of whether we need you or not, but we want you."

"And what about your people? Can't they handle this?" Max inquired, pushing a bit further.

"Our people are very capable of handling an operation such as this, and of course we'll have a few with us just as a precaution, but we don't put all our eggs in one basket Max, we have other operations that need attending to. But if needed, a bit of driving skills will be required…" she trailed off at the end. Max perked up a bit and continued to listen, Amy on the other hand remained silent next to her, slightly aware of the conversation. She was balancing her attention on the conversation at hand and the brooding brunette that sat behind the desk that was looking at her so intensely.

Lucy sat back in her chair oblivious to what Dominique had been saying, she already knew the score so she left the talking up to Dom, besides she was far too caught up in her own emotional turmoil to pay attention to what was being said. With her gaze fixed pointedly on Amy she sighed, wondering when the hell she started caring what the girl thought or if her feelings were hurt. It wasn't as if Amy was her girlfriend or that they were even dating. Nor did she have any intentions of doing so. No; in fact she had other non virtuous ideas for the girl.

"So Amy, you're comfortable behind the wheel as well I assume?" Dominique's question broke Lucy out of her gaze, piquing her interest back to the conversation. She vaguely remembered a conversation with Amy about her choice of vehicle, but they never really got into the subject of if she was a 'wheelman' as well.

"I can hold my own," Amy told her rather confidently, and at getting no objections from Max, Dominique trusted that the statement rang true.

"Very well then, we'll be expecting the two of you around nine p.m. on that Friday. Meet us at the hangar, there's some business we need to attend to first and then we'll leave from there. Lucy do you have anything else to add?" Dominique asked as she moved off the desk to turn to look at her boss, who she could tell was clearly not paying attention. "Lucy?"

"What?" Lucy replied sharply finally looking in Dom's direction.

"Is there anything you want add?" Dominique retorted in an equally harsh tone. She could tell something was wrong between the Lucy and Amy. What? She didn't know. Yet. However, she was clearly unimpressed with Lucy's unprofessional behavior.

"No, I think you covered everything."

Dominique turned back to the pair with a smile and motioning to the door, "Ok then, someone will see you two out." She didn't mean for it to sound as dismissive as it did, but she was more than eager to get to the bottom of the source of Lucy's tumultuous state. She'd noticed during the meeting that Amy had barely looked in Lucy's direction, the flirty actions that they'd shared days before at the café obviously not there anymore.

Lucy watched as Max and particularly Amy headed towards the door without so much as a glance back. This was supposed to be a game. There was no way she should feel even the tiniest bit of guilt over what happened between her and Riley. She and Riley had history and something in common, so naturally she would be drawn to the familiar. Plus, there was still the fact remained that Amy was a D.E.B, one that was put in place with one goal and one goal only, to lock her up.

So why is it that at the retreating blonde's form she felt so uneasy? Her heart was racing and her stomach was in knots. She thought back to the kisses that they'd shared mere days ago and remembered how good it had felt to have the blonde pressed up against her so intimately. Lucy shuddered slightly as she felt the goose bumps form over her skin at the memory and craving more contact from the blonde.

"Shit," Lucy mumbled to herself as she bolted upright in her chair, Dominique's hand shot out and took hold of her shoulder to halt her movement and plant her back in her chair.

"Whoa! Where do you think you're going?" Dominique decided she needed to intervene, having seen the display of emotions running across Lucy's face before she stood.

Lucy looked to Dom dubiously. "I need to talk to Amy."

"No, you need to sit here and calm down."

"I am calm." Lucy threw her hands up in an exasperated gesture.

Dominique furrowed her brows at her friend's obvious agitated state. "No you aren't. And I don't know what the hell went on earlier, but I can only conclude by Amy's actions a few minutes ago that it has something to do with your little meeting with Riley."

"Right, which I need to go explain."

"No Luce you really don't," Dominique calmly stated which earned a frown from Lucy. "What is it that you need to explain? It's not like Amy is your girlfriend or anything, hell you aren't even banging her. In fact, have you forgotten that she's a D.E.B.?"

"Of course I haven't!" Lucy exclaimed, clearly not forgetting that little detail about the blonde.

"And have you forgotten that it was you who came up with the little scheme to toy with her all the while feeding her information for our own purposes?"

"Dom," Lucy warned. She was not a child, nor did she like being treated like one. She was well aware of what the terms of engagement were as far as Amy was concerned. But how was she to effectively carry out those terms with the girl mad at her, she internally reasoned.

"What? I'm just saying…whatever is going on between you and Amy, don't let it go beyond the plan, it'll only end badly. And I don't know what the hell happened with you and Riley earlier, but we both know how that ended before. Even though it may seem like you're free to be together now with you both being in control, we both know it won't be that simple. There's just too much bad blood there. Literally."

"I know," Lucy sighed and rested her head back against the chair. _When the hell did Dom get so reasonable? _She saw the skeptical look Dominique was giving her. "I know, okay!"

"I hope that you do. I know you're a monogamous girl and all that good sappy shit, but really Lucy, you can have whoever you want, don't let these two get you all worked up." Lucy only nodded in response. "Hell, you know I'm all for a good screw…in fact have them both, a threesome even! Those are always fun," Dom said with a huge grin. "Just don't get all emotional about it."

Lucy genuinely laughed at her best friend's words, knowing that Dominique wasn't in the least joking about the threesome. "Somehow I doubt a threesome would fly with those two. Amy definitely doesn't seem like the type and Riley's to possessive to even think about sharing."

"Oh I don't know. Amy probably isn't the good girl you seem to think she is, it's always those types that'll surprise you, and after all she is a spy. And Riley, well…let's just say, possessive or not, she doesn't seem like the type to turn something like that down…not that I would know," Dominique quickly added noticing the questioning look Lucy shot her.

"Anyway, just be cool Lucy," Dominique said as she headed towards the door, "and stick to the plan," she added with a pointed look before leaving.

"Yeah, be cool Diamond," Lucy mumbled to herself letting out another heavy sigh.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN** - Finally back with another chapter, as always, thanks for taking the time to review, it is greatly appreciated.

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Amy sat on her bed muttering quietly to herself as she flipped through the file currently in her grasp. Around her lay countless of others, some opened to seemingly random points, sticky notes and dog-eared pages marking items of interest. She had been holed up in her room almost non-stop since the meeting with Lucy, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery that was Riley Schaffer.

Ever since the first time Lucy had set eyes on the girl, Amy could sense that there was _something_ between them, and she was determined to find out exactly what that something was. So far she was coming up completely empty. The two previous run-ins with Riley had ignited her suspicion that there was more than a professional rivalry between the two brunettes and after yesterday's meeting, that spark had ignited into a full blown raging fire. When Riley and Lucy had first appeared in the hallway, hair mussed, cheeks flushed and lips swollen, there was not one shred of doubt about what they had been up to.

If she had been able to delude herself about what had been going on, those doubts would have been dispelled upon walking into the office. Obviously Lucy either hadn't had the time, or the presence of mind to tidy up. The desk and floor surrounding, had been an absolute disaster; papers, pictures and other desktop items had all been swept aside. As soon as she took in the scene, a vivid mental image of throwing Lucy onto the desk had popped into her head and she had to bite back the instinctive groan. Reality intruding had served to chill that fantasy very rapidly as she recalled that Lucy probably had been recently ravished on that very surface, just not by her.

Amy had been able to convince herself up to this point that her reactions to Lucy and Riley together had been purely of a professional nature. The fact that there seemed to be some kind of connection between the two only spelled trouble for law enforcement. Each syndicate by themselves was formidable, the D.E.B.S. and other agencies usually finding themselves just one step behind, constantly playing catch-up. One of the factors that had helped keep either family from taking total control was their deep seated and bitter rivalry. The thought of them teaming up and forming a super syndicate was chilling to say the least. So, with perfectly valid reasons for concern, Amy had been able to hold to the belief that her reaction to seeing the decidedly non-hostile interactions between the two had nothing to do with her personal feelings.

That belief had been quite neatly blown out of the water yesterday. Amy's first reaction to seeing the two post romp criminal heads hadn't been professional worry over a merger; it had been immediate and blinding jealousy. The thought of the two girls in a passionate embrace had caused her stomach to twist and her jaw to tighten. That irrational jealousy had led her to where she found herself now, holed up in her room, surrounded by every scrap of information she could find on Riley Schaffer. She wasn't really sure what she was hoping to find. Obviously Lucy had a past with this woman and she would also be aware of her position as the head of her biggest rival. Logically she knew this, but something kept her digging into the files.

A knock on her door startled her out of her search and she called for whoever was there to enter. "Christ Bradshaw, are you still at this?" Amy stifled a groan at her partner's presence. She perversely found herself wishing that it had been Janet at the door instead. At least the bubbly brunette would simply annoy her with her endless prattle about anything other than what was in front of her. Max on the other hand was far too perceptive, and the fact that even she, a soldier through and through, was calling her out on spending too much time researching a case, Amy knew she was being a little more obvious than intended. No, the last thing she needed was her partner discovering her newly admitted self realization regarding Lucy.

"Yes Max, I'm still at it. I'm telling you there is something going on between the two of them. I think it could prove to be important to know exactly what that is," Amy insisted.

Max openly scoffed. "Amy it's _extremely _obvious what's going on with them. Hell, a blind person could see it, but who Lucy Diamond is fucking is hardly earth shattering intelligence."

"Nice Max," Amy said in a huff, "do you have to be so crude? There's no proof that they have anything going on personally, all we know is that Riley was at her compound yesterday for a meeting." Amy knew that her reasoning was extremely thin, but she didn't want to acknowledge the truth of Max's statement. "A meeting that we should be trying to find out about instead of alleging that...that...," Amy waved her hand, trying to find the word she was looking for.

"That they're screwing?" Max finished smugly and pressed on. "Because I know every time I get out of a meeting with Phipps I look freshly fucked and the meeting space looks like a tornado hit it." Amy only narrowed her eyes in response; it angered her even more to have her own concerns about the two brunettes voiced out loud. It was so much easier to deny when she had only herself to argue with. "Besides," Max continued somewhat hastily, not wanting her mind to wander to her previous comment, her and Phipps in a sexual embrace was not a mental picture she wanted. "I would think you'd be relieved. Now that Lucy has found a new playmate you don't have to pretend you're into her anymore."

"Max I think you're forgetting the small detail that we were relying on Lucy's interest to gain access to her operation. If she decides that she would rather pursue something with Schaffer then where does that leave us?"

"Um, the plan was to infiltrate her operation with our driving skills. Using you as a lure only came into play when Lucy showed an appreciation for your assets and strictly as a plan B. Now that she has seen me drive we're in, so the fact that she has moved on doesn't really affect our operation in the least." Max shot Amy an unreadable look. "If I didn't know any better I would say that you were upset that you no longer have to make nice with the master criminal."

Amy felt her pulse accelerate as Max's observation hit onto a subject she really couldn't get into with her partner. "Of course I'm not upset!" Amy denied Max's accusation. Admitting to it would only serve as a reason for Max to push further for a reason why. So she did what she did best, she lied. "I know that you're driving has gotten us in the door." When in a tight spot a little ego stroking usually helped mellow her volatile partner out. "But you know that I am much more comfortable with having a fall back strategy. If for some reason something goes wrong in a race it would be nice to have something else keeping us in the game."

Amy watched Max's expression change from a slight smirk to a glower. "You think I am going to fuck up a race?" Amy bit back a curse at her careless choice of words. The last thing she needed right now was for Max to get up in arms because she perceived that her racing prowess was questionable.

"No of course not, but you know as well as I do that anything can go wrong in a race. Mechanical failure, other drivers interfering with you," Amy quickly responded, hoping to contain the damage. She really didn't want to deal with this right now; she did still have a lot of work to do.

"And you must think an awful lot of yourself if you think the opportunity to get you in the sack would make up for losing millions of dollars," Max fired back still a bit pissed off.

"Hey!" Amy cried, insulted by Max's insinuation and feeling the need to defend her sexual adeptness. "I will have you know that I am worth all that and then some. I have never had any complaints."

"Well I'll have to just take your word on that Bradshaw, while you seem more than happy to unleash your inner lesbian; I am strictly on Team Hetero. Besides, you haven't dated anyone that I know of in years and if your last boyfriend is anything to go by, something tells me a hole in a mattress could keep Bobby satisfied."

Amy grimaced. "Okay, truce? I won't even _slightly _imply that your driving is anything less than perfect, if you agree to never mention Bobby and sex in the same sentence again."

Max laughed. "Deal. That's not really a mental image I want either, believe me." Amy could only nod in agreement. Unfortunately she was cursed with actual memories and not just hypothetical imaginings. "But seriously, I think even without the more personal aspect we should be fine."

"I'm sure we will be. But I really do think we need to keep an eye on Schaffer. The possibility that these two might be working on a merger fills me with nothing but unease." Which was true as far as it went; Max just didn't need to know that 80 percent of that unease was of a personal nature. "The Reynolds family has been hard enough to try to take down. If these two join forces we are screwed. The only thing that has given us even a little bit of an edge is that given their rivalry, they spend almost as much time fighting each other as they do us."

Max gave Amy a measured look, almost as though she was searching for something before grudgingly nodding her assent. "Alright, I'll keep my eyes and ears open. See if I can pick up any rumors that seem to imply there is a merger in the works. I suggest we let Phipps in on your concerns as well...see if he can get any info from headquarters about what they could possibly be planning." Amy only nodded as Max continued on. "I figure I'll be spending most of my time in the garages, you know how the grunts love to run their mouths about what the big bosses are doing."

Amy gave an internal sigh of relief. If Max was agreeing to keep a look out, that meant she had accepted Amy's reasoning about her looking into Riley Schaffer. "Great, that's all I'm asking."

"So are you finally going to take a break?" Max ran her gaze up and down Amy's body with a critical eye. "Maybe take a shower? Brush your hair? Leave your room?"

"I will, I just want to finish up one more file." Amy looked back down at the file in question; it was a summary report of a stakeout that had been conducted a few years ago. There really wasn't much in the file; it was basically just a record of the people and places that Riley had been seen with.

"Alright, but if you're not out of here in half an hour I'm coming back in," Max threatened playfully as she exited the blonde's room. Amy reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, trying to massage the tight muscles. Max was right, she really did need to take a break, and she would, right after she finished going through this file.

"You are so busted." Amy jerked her head up to find Janet standing just inside her doorway.

"Excuse me?" Amy questioned, honestly clueless as to what the other girl was implying.

"You are so into her!" Janet accused, arms crossed over her chest. Amy's mouth dropped open slightly in surprise.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Amy lied with very little conviction. Janet must have been standing outside of the door eaves dropping on her and Max's conversation. Great.

"Sure you don't," Janet taunted, walking further into the room. "But if that's the way you want to play it let me explain it for you." Janet unfolded her arms, rested her hands on her waist and cocked her hip to the side. "You have totally gone gay for Lucy Diamond!"

"What? I have not!" Amy replied hotly. And it was true, she hadn't gone gay for Lucy, she had already been there and done that. She let a small half grin form, remembering her collegiate lesbian fling fondly, before quickly blanking her expression.

"You so have! It's so obvious; anyone with eyes can see it." Amy sincerely hoped that Janet was just messing with her, because if her accusation was true it was mortifying.

"Whatever Janet. You know, it is part of the _mission_ to _act _like I'm into her. If you had spent more time in the field maybe you would recognize that." Amy decided to go for Janet's weak spot; her complete lack of field experience.

Janet frowned slightly, a bit of doubt creeping in, but ultimately she would not be dissuaded. "I may not have a lot of field experience." Amy cocked her eyebrow in silent challenge. "Okay, _any _field experience," Janet reluctantly conceded. "And I may not be all perfect covert super spies like you and Max, but one thing I can recognize is when someone is smitten," Janet insisted.

"Smitten? Seriously? And just what are you basing this completely _false_ conclusion on? The fact that I have had to _act_ like I enjoy it when she kisses me?" Amy was confident that Janet was just on a fishing trip, after all Janet had only seen Amy and Lucy interact once. There was just no way Janet could've picked up on something that Amy hadn't even been consciously aware of until yesterday. Either Janet was a better spy than she and Max had actually given her credit for or Amy should readily prepare a speech for when she and Lucy won the 'best kiss award'. It _was_ a good kiss Amy thought dreamily to herself.

"Every time she's around you can barely take your eyes off her." Janet ticked the point off on her index finger.

"Every time? Janet you have seen us together exactly _once. _But even if I do watch her, it's my job," Amy insisted. _Though the parts I'm watching likely aren't in the protocol outlined for surveillance in the field manual. _

"Well even if I haven't seen you guys together a lot, you get this stupid grin on your face every time she's mentioned and your eyes go all hazy and unfocused."

"This is your 'evidence'?" Amy questioned, letting her tone convey how wholly unimpressed she was.

"Of course not," Janet scoffed. "There is also the fact that you are completely obsessing over her connection to Riley. And your weak explanations about why may have worked on Max, but I can see right through them." Janet smiled triumphantly at Amy. Amy rolled her eyes at Janet's little screw up, she _knew _she had been spying, but hearing Janet confirm her thoughts made her retract her previous thoughts and she concluded that Janet was indeed not _that good_ of a spy.

"How do you know anything about my conversation with Max?" Amy seized on the one bit of information that she figured could get her out of this conversation, which was rapidly depleting her patience.

"What?" Janet shifted uncomfortably and averted her gaze.

"You heard me. Have you been _spying_ on Max and me? You know Janet; if Max finds out about this she will not be happy. She hates when people snoop around behind her back." Amy gave Janet a thoughtful look, and let out a heavy sigh. "I guess I can let it go _this_ time, if you promise you won't do it again. I would hate to think what Max would do if she found out. She'd probably request that you be sent back to headquarters."

"Would you?" Janet asked with thread of relief in her voice. "That would be great. Dealing with Max when she's in a good mood is bad enough, the last thing I need is for her to..." Janet suddenly cut off, mid-sentence. "Hey! You are so just trying to distract me! Well it's not going to work." Janet crossed her arms across her chest. "The fact that you were trying to distract me from that line of questioning is very telling. You clearly have something to hide."

Amy breathed out, trying to reign in her temper. "The only thing I have been trying to hide is my ever escalating annoyance. My only interest in Lucy Diamond is professional."

"Like I said, that weak explanation might work with Max, but I know the truth." Amy realized that Janet was not likely to leave her in peace until she managed to reveal what ever bit of information she was convinced was so damning. She decided to just humor the other girl.

"Fine. If it will get you out of my room, please tell me what has you so convinced of my undying love for our mission target."

A satisfied smile crossed Janet's face and she pointed significantly at the bed. "Those."

Amy looked down at her bed confused. "My sheets?" Amy knew there had been the odd dream or two about Lucy, but she hardly thought the evidence would be visible on her sheets, at least she sure as hell hoped not.

Janet rolled her eye in exasperation. "No not your sheets. The files you requested."

"You have got to be kidding me." Amy shot the other girl an annoyed look. She had been right all along; Janet clearly didn't have a clue about her feelings for Lucy. Not if her big piece of evidence were the research files, possibly the least damaging piece of evidence. "The fact that I am researching a possible collaboration between the heads of the two biggest crime syndicates on the West coast is what has you so convinced?"

"Well if that's what you were actually researching, no. But that's not what you are looking for at all," Janet insisted confidently.

"It's not?"

"Nope. If you were really looking for a possible business connection you would have pulled her accounting files, bank statements, recent acquisitions, but that's not what you requested, you wanted her surveillance and personal files." Seeing the surprise on Amy's face, Janet smiled smugly. "You and Max might think I am a total idiot, but you two are the ones that seem to have forgotten that just because I didn't make the cut for the field doesn't mean I am not fit to be an agent."

"I still fail to see what significance any of this has? So I pulled her surveillance files, I just want to get a better understanding of her movements and associates, all of this is part of undercover work Janet." Amy was not willing to admit to anything, if Janet wanted to catch her at something she was going to have to be the one to find the so called evidence.

"Right. And that's why you requested the surveillance files from _seven_ _years _ago? Which just _happens_ to be the last time Lucy was stateside?" Amy opened her mouth to argue the point, but to her dismay no sound was forthcoming. In that moment of mouth gaping silence all she could think was _sonofabitch! _She knew that Janet had finally caught her in her deception when she saw the triumphant smile on the smaller D.E.B.'s face.

"I totally knew it!" Janet declared happily, rubbing her hands together in uncontainable glee.

Amy rolled her eyes at the girl's antics. "Whatever Janet. If you are done proving your amazing deductive reasoning skills, can you leave? I really have to finish this data analysis."

"Amy do you really think I came in here and went through all that just to prove how observant I am?"

"Um...yeah?"

Janet laughed. "And you and Max say I am the naïve one? If you want me to keep this information to myself, I want something in return." Amy eyed the other girl warily, she didn't really think Max would listen to Janet long enough for the other girl to present her "evidence", and even if she did, Max probably wouldn't be swayed by it. Besides, she probably just wanted her to give her the new sweater she had picked up on their shopping trip the other day.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to convince Max to let me into the field on this assignment."

"What?" Amy cried. "Have you lost your mind? There is no way that Max will go for that. And if I try to convince her she will think I've lost _my_ mind."

"I really don't care how you do it Amy. But if you want me to keep quiet about this, just make it happen. Besides, do you think Max is the only one you should be worried about where this information is concerned? Ms. Petrie would surely pull you from this assignment if she knew you were pursuing this mission in a less than professional manner." Janet smugly crossed her arms again and leaned against the door.

"Janet be reasonable about this, isn't there something..." Before Amy could finish her plea to the seemingly resolute Janet, Max's shout interrupted.

"AMY!"

"What! Christ I said I would be out in a little bit, calm down it's only been like five minutes!" Amy shouted back, her anger about being backed into a corner by Janet spilling over.

"Lucy's here to see you!" Max yelled back. Amy felt her pulse jump at the mere mention of the mastermind's name, and her stomach flipped uncomfortably.

"There…that look!" Janet exclaimed pointing an accusing finger at her. Amy was set to retort when she suddenly remembered that her current look was closer to that of a crazy person then someone that Lucy Diamond was likely to find attractive.

"Shit!" Amy cried, panicked. "I can't go out there and let her see me looking like this." She decided that since Janet wasn't going to buy her arguments she might as well enlist her help. "You have to go out there and stall, I need like ten minutes to get presentable. Just keep Lucy occupied till I get out there."

"Ten minutes?" Janet questioned, skeptical of the blondes estimation. Amy jumped off the bed and turned the other girl's shoulders toward the door.

"Janet just go! I will somehow make sure you get into the field, I promise. Just stall!" Amy shoved the other girl out the door and closed it firmly behind her.

"Shit, shit, shit." She muttered to herself. "Okay calm down Amy, ten minutes is _totally _doable." Even she was having trouble buying it.

* * *

Lucy settled herself on the couch that Max had indicated when she led her into the apartment. As she sank onto the plush surface she idly noted that it must be new, it was the only nice thing in the otherwise shabby apartment. When Max walked to the start of the hallway, Lucy took the time to fully take in her surroundings. The apartment was clean, well as clean as it could be considering, but all in all it was a total shit hole. Either the government didn't believe in shelling out for nice digs for their hard working agents or Max and Amy really took their cover as garage working grunts serious.

When Max shouted loudly Lucy jumped a little, startled. She was relieved that no one was present to notice the crack in her bad ass facade. She might give Scud shit about being a mother hen, but being surrounded by government law enforcement agents, with no back-up and no one knowing where she was, made her a little twitchy. She knew it was stupid to not tell anyone of her whereabouts, but she really wasn't in the mood for the shit she was sure to get from Dom or Scud when they learned she was headed for Amy's.

After Riley and Amy had left the other day she had finally had the time to sit down and think things out, without her hormones and the fact that she hadn't been laid in longer then she cared to remember, getting in the way. She figured she had three options.

One – she could pursue both girls. While the idea was tempting, and certainly had more than its fair share of positive points, the very real possibility that one or more people may end up with bullet holes was a sufficiently large negative to nix that idea.

Two – she could scrap her whole bed the D.E.B. plan, and see if there was anything worth rekindling with Riley. After yesterday's meeting in her office, she was fairly confident the answer to that was a big resounding yes. On the plus side, if history was anything to go by, she knew that she would be assured of plenty of hot sweaty sex, which was something she certainly couldn't complain about where Riley was concerned. The girl never left anything to be desired on that front. The down side? There was the very real possibility that she would have her heart ripped out again. She was only just now starting to find a semblance of peace and balance in her life, something that had been missing since her father's death, and she wasn't jumping at the opportunity to risk her still battered heart.

This left her option number three. Stick to the plan. Bed the D.E.B, have some fun, and send her on her way. She knew she was always one step ahead of the D.E.B.S. organization. After all, she hadn't gotten this far without being the best. Plus choosing the third option meant no complications and no chance at heart ache. In the short term it meant she needed to put forth a little bit more effort but at least her heart would be protected. At least she hoped it would be.

She couldn't deny she was more than attracted to the blonde, she also couldn't deny that if the circumstances were different, she'd probably pursue Amy on a more permanent basis. Much to Dom's chagrin, she was a serially monogamous girl. Her decision made, she had realized she really needed to make nice with Amy if her plan was to have any chance of succeeding. Technically she didn't owe the blonde agent any explanations for Riley, but technicalities had a way of biting you in the ass. So here she was, waiting for Amy to make an appearance, so she could begin the process of sucking up.

Max turned from the hallway and headed into the kitchen. "You want anything to drink?"

"No, I'm good thanks. So...nice place you have here." Lucy couldn't resist needling the perpetually pissed off agent. She got way too much amusement over watching Max try to keep her anger in check.

Max sauntered back into the room, and Lucy found herself admiring the distinctive sway of the agent's hips. _Beauty was indeed a requirement after all_, Lucy thought cheekily. "Please, this place is a total dump. But it's someplace to crash and that's really all we need." Max eyed the brunette as she took a pull from her beer. "Maybe if you paid a little better, we could afford a nicer pad."

Lucy laughed. "Oh please, your partner totally fleeced me, the two of you are getting paid just fine." Hearing footsteps coming down the hallway Lucy switched her attention in their direction. Instead of the leggy blonde she was expecting, the annoying waitress from the cafe strode into the room.

"Hey Lucy, good to see you again. What brings you by?" Janet rattled off perkily as she sat down beside Lucy on the couch. Before she could answer the girl's question Max spoke.

"Where the hell is Amy?" Max questioned rudely.

Janet turned slightly in her seat to face Max. "Amy is just getting ready. She'll be out soon, she said to give her about ten minutes." Janet turned back to face Lucy. "She was just getting out of the shower when Max so _eloquently_ announced your arrival." Janet watched in satisfaction as Lucy got the same semi glazed expression that Amy usually wore when Lucy was mentioned. They were both so totally obvious.

"Ten minutes!" Max spluttered in disbelief, "She's about as likely to get ready in ten minutes as I am to lose a race." Max shook her head. "Are you sure you don't want a drink Lucy? You are likely to be sitting there for awhile."

Thoughts of a freshly showered, and likely at this very moment naked blonde DEB, prevented Lucy from responding right away. "What? Oh, no, I'm still good."

"Don't worry, you won't be bored. Amy asked me to keep you company while she gets ready," Janet supplied happily.

"Great." Lucy shifted on the sofa, not really sure what to say. "So, um, do you live here too?"

"Yes, I do..."

"No, she doesn't."

Lucy looked back and forth between the two 'roommates' questioningly. "She just showed up one night and now she won't leave." Max elaborated, sending the smaller girl a glare.

"With such a hospitable attitude I can't imagine why I even want to stay," Janet fired back. "They won't even let me sleep in one of the bedrooms."

"So, where do you sleep?" Lucy didn't really care, but figured an awkward conversation was a small step above and uncomfortable silence.

"You're sitting on it," Max answered with a snicker.

Lucy glanced between the glowering Janet and smirking Max. "Well...it's a nice sofa at any rate."

"It is, isn't it? You should have _seen_ the disgusting thing they had here before. There were stains of god knows what all over it, not to mention it was hideous. So I decided that if they were going to make me sleep on the couch it was actually going to be a nice one. It took me forever to pick it out. I wasn't sure if I wanted a sleeper or not, but since I didn't know how long I was going to be here, decided that I had better, since sleeping on such a narrow surface is not very restful for me. Of course that meant I had even fewer fabric options. There is a regrettable lack of selection in the sleeper sofa area. I could have waited for custom upholstery, but the fewer nights I spent on that disease riddled former couch the better."

Lucy was in awe of the girl's ability to ramble on a single breath, and there was no apparent end in sight. She sent a quick look Max's way and noticed that her eyes had glazed over and she was staring off into space, doubtlessly she was well used to her roommates ceaseless chatter. As Janet continued to regale her with the enthralling details of the trials of getting the new sofa delivered and set up, Lucy had an idea. A wonderful, horribly diabolical idea.

"Hey Janet... Janet...Janet!" Lucy finally resorted to yelling to get the other girls attention. God she hoped this idea didn't end up blowing up in her face.

"Yes? Oh do you have a question about the..."

"No," Lucy replied quickly, before Janet could get off on another tangent about the couch. "I was just thinking there's going to be a party tonight. Not a huge deal, but I was wondering if you wanted to come. There's someone I want you to meet, I think you two will get along great." Lucy smiled her, c'mon you know you want to smile, but she had a feeling this wasn't going to take too much persuasion on her part.

"What! Really?" Janet squealed. "Oh my god! Yes of course. What time is it? This is so exciting!" Janet bounced in her seat, not able to restrain her excitement.

"What! Are you out of your mind?" Max yelled, spilling some of her beer in her agitation. "There is no way that Janet is going with us. Wait? Was there even anything planned for tonight?"

"It's why I was stopping by actually; I wanted to invite you and Amy. No business tonight, at least not for you, just pleasure." Lucy supplied. "But if you don't want to go that's fine, I'm sure Janet will still be happy to come and Amy of course, if I can persuade her."

"No way in hell is Janet going," Max insisted belligerently.

"Excuse me?" Lucy questioned her voice deceptively calm. "I hardly think you are in a position to tell me who I can and can't invite to anything. Or are you forgetting who's in charge?" The challenge was clear. If Max wanted in, which she had said she did, then she was going to have to learn to back down. Lucy had the added enjoyment of knowing it must just about kill the proud agent to take orders from the likes of her. "Well? What's it going to be Brewer?"

Max glared at the brunette, beyond pissed that she had allowed herself to be backed into this corner. "Fine, I just hope you know what you're in for." Max send a significant look at the still bubbling Janet, who was having a rapid fire conversation with herself about what she was going to wear that showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

"You know what? I just remembered a phone call that I need to make, and since it looks like Amy might be awhile I think I'll just wait for her downstairs. I wouldn't want to disturb you." Lucy grinned at Max, who glared back in reply. Edging towards the door she made eye contact with Max, who was shooting daggers at her. "Can you send her down when she's ready?"

Max gritted her teeth, the prospect of alone time with an excited Janet looming. "I would _love _to."

"Great. See you tonight." With a small wave, Lucy hurriedly exited the apartment, wanting to make her escape before Janet figured out what was going on.

The click of the door, and Max's irritated growl, finally broke Janet out of her one sided conversation. "Hey, where did Lucy go? I was just going to ask her if she thought this party was more formal or informal. I need to know so I can make sure I pick the correct ensemble, I mean I need to blend in."

"She had a call to make." Max bit out, still pissed about the current turn of events. She leveled a scorching glare at Janet. "Look, I don't know what possessed her to invite you, but you had better not fuck this up. Amy and I have put in way to much work on this case for you to go bumbling in there and blowing our cover."

"I am not going to blow your cover Max," Janet replied, hurt and offended.

"Right, says the girl who almost did exactly that less than a week ago," Max retorted sarcastically. "Just don't fuck this up Janet, I'm serious." Max stood from the chair she was resting on, beer bottle still clutched in her hand. "Let Amy know that Lucy is downstairs waiting for her, if I have to go out tonight, I want to at least be well rested."

Janet sat back against the couch in a huff. "Lucy invited _me_, so she obviously likes me." Janet jumped up obviously happy with her new invited position into the field. "Max is just jealous that it was easier for me to get an invite," Janet said as she set out to find the perfect outfit for tonight.

* * *

Lucy exited the apartment with a relieved sigh. Her mind was whirling from the babbling conversation that she had just endured with the quirky D.E.B. moonlighting as a waitress. She was already starting to doubt the wisdom of her plan to invite the effervescent agent along, her plans had not been working out too well in her favor lately, but it was too late now. Plus with any luck, or a few armed goons, she wouldn't have to actually see the girl anyway.

Leaning against her car, her finger tapped nervously on the hood as she waited for Amy to come down. She wasn't exactly sure how she would broach the conversation about Riley, or even if she should and just wait to see if Amy would bring it up. However, given the blonde's reaction to the situation, Lucy was fairly certain that the topic would come up at some point but she just didn't know if she and Amy were at that stage of their relationship where explanations were owed.

Which led to another problem…what stage _were_ they in! And whatever it was could it really be classified as a relationship? There had been some kissing, some very hot kissing Lucy thought back on with a grin. But she knew that kissing by no means warranted grounds for a relationship and there was the fact that she wasn't exactly looking for a relationship out of this whole deal, and especially not one that was doomed before it even got started.

Sure, she liked the leggy blonde; she was gorgeous, extremely hot, and she was a damn good kisser, what was there not to like? _She was a D.E.B., _Lucy scoffed at her own internal rambling, _guess they can't all be perfect. _So from here on out Lucy vowed to stick to the plan, and the plan was plain and simple…fuck the D.E.B., nothing more nothing less.

With renewed confidence, Lucy straightened with a dazzling grin in place as the blonde came into view. Lucy ignored the way her heart raced as she watched Amy get closer and chalked it up to being eager to get her hands _literally_ on the sexy D.E.B. However, if she was being honest with herself she'd admit that her enthusiasm towards seeing the girl had nothing to do with just wanting to sleep with her. Lucy wasn't a stranger to being around beautiful women, nor did being around them typically make her in the least bit nervous. There had only been one other girl that could make Lucy's heart race the way it was now and said girl was the reason she was in such hot water with the blonde_. _

"Hey."

"Hey yourself," Lucy smiled easily at the blonde and walked over to the passenger side door to pull it open for her.

"Sorry I made you wait. I was just getting out of the shower when you showed," Amy lied easily.

"It's cool…really. Plus, it was definitely worth the wait, you look good," she told her as she let her eyes deliberately rake over the blonde's form before moving aside to let her in.

"Thanks," Amy told her, blushing slightly under Lucy's appraising gaze as she entered the vehicle. Her eyes stayed glued to Lucy as she closed the door and walked past the front of the car to get in. Even though she was still quite unhappy with Lucy and still very wary about the whole Riley situation, Amy couldn't help but notice how good Lucy looked in her tight fitting black jeans and equally tight fitting black long sleeved shirt. Lucy walked with an air of confidence that always seemed to surround her. Suddenly a thought occurred, causing her to panic.

What if Lucy was taking her some place to 'break up' with her, granted that wouldn't be possible considering they weren't even in a relationship but the thought made her sick. It was less than an hour ago that was Max was telling her she could drop the whole act of being interested, which would be all well and good if it was actually an act, since Lucy obviously had something going with Riley. Now she was being faced with the possibility of Lucy asking her to do the same thing.

Amy snapped her eyes forward as Lucy entered, and then started the car, saying nothing as she drove away. She clasped her hands together as she sat there nervously, unable to speak or do much else but think about what it was Lucy wanted to say to her. After all, why wouldn't Lucy have just said what she needed to say back at the apartment? Was it that she didn't want to risk embarrassing her in front of her friends?

Unbeknownst to Amy, Lucy was having her own mental break down. When she had set out this afternoon she had every intention of trying to swindle the blonde D.E.B, to tell her whatever it was she wanted to hear in order to accomplish her goal. However, now that she was finally in the presence of the beautiful blonde, Lucy was at a loss, not knowing what to do or what to say. She didn't even know where it was she was going but in an effort to maintain her cool; she blindly drove on, set off for destination unknown.

* * *

"Have you tried her cell phone again?" Scud asked for the millionth time since he'd realized Lucy was gone.

"No. I haven't," Dom replied as she blew out a string of cigarette smoke, ever the picture of calm as she watched her brother pace in front of her. Although she didn't know where Lucy had snuck off to, she figured she couldn't be in too much trouble. Lucy was a survivor and would never put herself in a situation she knew she couldn't shoot, talk, or buy her way out of.

"It's good to know you're taking this so seriously Dom. Lucy could be anywhere right now! You know some of the families that are arriving to talk about the Vegas race are probably here by now." Scud muttered, talking more to himself than his sister. "What if she's been kidnapped!" He suddenly turned to Dominique, his expression panicked.

"You need to calm down. Lucy isn't a simpleton and she wouldn't put herself in unnecessary danger," Dominique told him as she put a hand on his shoulder to stop the pacing. He was giving her a headache. "Besides, none of the other families would be stupid enough to try anything."

Scud shrugged out of Dom's grip. "Yeah, tell that to Lorenzo…oh wait you can't," Scud threw his hands in the air in an exaggerated move. "He's not here anymore because we so stupidly thought no one would make a move on him." He shook his head and placed his hands over his face, sighing heavily.

Dominique couldn't help but feel an awful twinge in her heart for her brother. She knew he blamed himself, time and time again, for the death of their father figure. Even though they were in Tokyo at the time, Scud still felt responsible because he had trusted the team back home to keep their family safe.

"Lucy's fine Scud," she told him with as much conviction as she could muster. Scud voicing his concerns and knowing that in their business nothing concerning their safety could be ruled out, had allowed some doubt to creep in. "Look, she's probably with the D.E.B, you know she's been acting irrationally since she's started her little obsession with her. Or maybe she's with Riley. After yesterday's little fiasco, I wouldn't put it past her. You do know what they say, old habits die hard."

Scud raised his head to look at her and gave her a small smile; he appreciated the effort Dominique was making to put him at ease. Even though she grated on his last nerve sometimes, he knew that she would always be there when it mattered most, and protect the family to the end. "Yeah, maybe you're right," he replied, trying to convincing himself. "She has been acting like a lovesick teenager lately. And we both know what she was like the last time that happened." His smile turned genuine as he thought back to the last time Lucy had acted in such a manner where a girl was concerned. While it caused him no small headache, seeing Lucy that happy was a good thing.

Dominique chuckled, remembering the measures and near heart attacks Lucy gave Scud when she and Riley were dating. "Yeah, she was quite a handful. It made it easier for me to get away with murder," Dominique laughed at her own joke, Scud however got a skeptical look on his face, they were trained killers after all.

"I'll just have some of the guys go patrol and check out that D.E.B.S café, and that god awful place Amy and Max inhabit. Oh, and will you have some of the girls check out the areas you gear heads like to haunt?"

"I'm on it," Dominique assured him. "But you do know Lucy's gonna be pissed if we fuck up her groove?"

Scud chuckled nervously, he knew that Lucy would indeed be pissed if they interrupted something of a sexual nature, but he would gladly suffer the consequences as long as he knew she was okay. "Yes well, maybe this will teach her to give more thought to security measures and not her hormones."

Dominique laughed as she headed towards the door. "You should know by now dear brother, getting laid always takes precedence over paranoid family members." Dominique turned just before she exited and added as an afterthought. "But then again, if you actually got laid you would know that." Satisfied that she'd embarrassed her brother properly she exited the room, leaving only a trail of cigarette smoke behind.

* * *

"Here we are," Lucy said softly, after a long drive in uncomfortable silence. In an effort to find somewhere that would provide them with privacy and avoid a place that had absolutely anything to do with a certain ex, Lucy found herself in a place she would've never thought she'd bring anyone.

Amy looked around, taking in the beautiful surroundings. They had parked on the edge of a cliff that overlooked the sprawl of L.A. The sun was making its daily descent, setting the sky ablaze with a combination of fiery red and flaming orange. She'd never seen the sky look as amazing before. "Where's here?" Amy absently asked as she continued to look out the window at the beautiful sunset. She was internally memorizing every detail, so that she could later put the stunning image to paper.

Lucy sighed as she griped the steering wheel and looked out over the horizon, seeing not the beautiful sunset, but her past. It was a place she knew well, a place that she'd frequented with her dad since she was a child. It was their special place, one that he would often bring her to when he just wanted to be alone with his daughter or where he would go when he just needed to think. Lucy had visited the place often before she left; it gave her the opportunity to clear her head whenever things proved too much for her to deal with. Whether it was things concerning family matters, things of a more personal nature or if she just needed a place to get away, Lucy knew she would always have this place to sort things out.

"My dad used to bring me here," Lucy said quietly still looking out at the setting sun. Her dad was still a sore subject for her, so it surprised her that she was able to share this bit of information so easily, however small it seemed. Amy turned her gaze towards Lucy and watched as the range of emotions played across her face.

"I'm sorry," Amy told her as she reached over and placed her hand on Lucy's, squeezing it lightly. "You know, about your dad." She knew Lucy's dad had died of course, as it was that event that had been the catalyst for her current mission. "My parents died when I was in high school." Lucy looked at Amy sorrowfully. Amy gave a small shrug and squeezed Lucy's hand again; in what she was hoping was a reassuring gesture. "I know what it's like; you can never really get over losing your parents no matter how long ago it's been. So if you ever need to talk…I'm here," she finished with a gentle smile. She knew it was stupid to share details about her real life with Lucy, but the pain in the brown eyes was impossible to ignore. It was a pain that Amy still felt when she thought of her own parents, and she just couldn't leave the other girl to suffer it alone.

Lucy nodded and let out a shuddery sigh. "Thanks." Their eyes locked for a long moment before Lucy removed her hand from under Amy's. "C'mon," Lucy motioned with her head as she exited the vehicle.

Lucy was leaning against the car as Amy came and stood next to her. She leaned back, mirroring the other girl's stance and hugged herself. "It's beautiful," Amy said as she looked out over the city.

"Yeah, really beautiful," Lucy said softly as she reached out and tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind Amy's ear. Amy looked over and found Lucy staring at her; she ducked her head and smiled as she felt herself blush. Lucy leaned in, wanting nothing more than to kiss the girl. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she got closer and brought her hand up to cup Amy's cheek.

Anticipating what Lucy was about to do, Amy moistened her lips as the brunette grew closer, feeling the heat radiating from Lucy's body, her heart beating a million times per minute. Feeling Lucy's lips on her own, she moaned at the contact, her eyes fluttering closed as she immediately parted her lips, not hesitating to deepen the kiss. Hearing an answering moan from the Lucy, as her tongue wasted no time sliding into her mouth, Amy knew her eagerness was appreciated. Wanting to deepen the contact further, Amy brought her hands up, entangling them in the brunette's hair and pulled her closer.

The kissed grew even more intense as Lucy shifted her position, placing herself in front of the blonde, pressing her body flush against her and pinning her to the car. She brought one hand up to rest on the nape of the blonde's slender neck, her fingertips lightly caressing the soft skin. She let her other had rest on the blonde's waist, her fingers finding the small gap between shirt and jeans, and making contact with the heated flesh underneath. She slowly massaged her thumb against it, knowing her efforts were well received as she felt the blonde's nipples hardened against her chest. Feeling Amy's hands tug her even harder forward, Lucy grew bolder and she flattened her palm against Amy's stomach, slowly inching it upward.

Lucy sighed into Amy's mouth as her hand grazed the underside of her breast. _Fuck…no bra!_ Lucy thought as she eagerly cupped Amy's bare breast and rolled a hardened nipple between her fingers. Much to Lucy's chagrin, Amy gasped at the action and broke the kiss. Both girls were panting, trying to catch their breath as they stood there in each others embrace.

Much to her own displeasure at having to stop, it was Amy who decided to make the first move as she removed her hands from Lucy's hair and grasped the brunette's forearms, effectively removing the hand that still lightly held her breast. "Okay," she managed, as she still struggled to inhale. "I thought you wanted to talk."

Lucy, who was still trying to catch her own breath, briefly laid her head against Amy's shoulder before pulling away and placing both hands on the car behind them. "Right," Lucy said as she lifted her head and pushed herself away from the tempting blonde's body. "Talk." Lucy hoisted herself on her car and breathed in deeply, still trying to compose herself. Her brain momentarily turned into mush, Lucy let out a throaty chuckle as she ran a hand over her face. "Fuck, you made me forget what I wanted to say."

Amy chuckled herself, finding the tongue-tied Lucy adorable, as she moved to stand between the brunette's legs. Lucy opened them wider, allowing more room for Amy as she leaned back against the car. Amy slowly ran her hands up and down Lucy's thighs, in what she intended to be a soothing gesture, rather than a sexual one, but from the way Lucy was looking at her she knew which way the brunette perceived it. She gave a gentle squeeze, stilling her hands, and smiled at Lucy. "Just say what you need to say."

Lucy nodded absently and turned her head to gaze at the horizon. The sun was now barely visible as it sank into the earth, the vivid colors from earlier dimming as night took over. Lucy sighed and closed her eyes as the memories that this place held rushed at her. She felt Amy give another gentle squeeze and she opened her eyes to find the blonde staring at her. Lucy held her gaze and wondered why she had thought about sharing this special place with her.

Scud, Dom, not even Riley, knew about this place. Now here she was sharing it with a stranger, someone she barely knew, and someone that she certainly couldn't trust, but someone that she couldn't help wanting to know better. No matter what she tried to tell herself about why she was pursuing the blonde D.E.B, Lucy couldn't refute the obvious flutter in her heart every time she saw Amy.

Bringing her here, revealing the importance of this place, she was starting to realize that she wanted more from the blonde then just a one-time romp in the bedroom. She cursed internally as she realized her brilliant plan to bed the D.E.B. and keep her feelings safely locked away was failing. Though she was beginning to accept that it was more than just a bet, Lucy knew that with Amy it was the mission that mattered, that she was simply playing a part. Or was she? That was one thing Lucy wasn't sure of anymore.

Amy's obvious irritation at seeing her and Riley together seemed to be more than just an agent trying to find a way into an organization. Surely Amy wouldn't have reacted so strongly if she didn't really give a damn. Lucy closed her eyes not really sure of what she should do at this point. She'd sworn that this would be the easiest option, but in fact it was proving to be the most difficult. Minutes ago, she was certain that she was in no danger of her heart being involved but now she wasn't so sure.

Despite all the confusion and emotional turmoil she was now feeling, Lucy decided to just go with her heart. With another sigh she finally spoke. "About yesterday," she started, "it wasn't what it looked liked." Amy raised a brow at the words she'd just heard, she knew a quickie when she saw one. "Okay, it was what it looked like," Lucy corrected at the blonde's look, "but it wasn't." Lucy shook her head frustrated at not being able to convey what she really meant, so she just went with the truth. "Alright. Riley and I dated," Amy frowned at the news. She had suspected as much, but having it revealed didn't make her feel any better. "But that was a long time ago," Lucy paused briefly, not sure how much she wanted to reveal, but decided it was best this conversation be approached like pulling off a band aid.

"What you saw the other day was just…it was just," Lucy faltered slightly not really knowing what to say. "Fuck…it was just me reacting to past emotions I guess," Lucy said not really knowing if she believed that herself. She paused again, it lasted a little longer than it previously had and she looked away. Amy stood there silently never taking her eyes off Lucy, wanting nothing more than for Lucy to continue so she could understand just what it was Lucy was trying to say.

After a long moment of awkward silence, Lucy nodded slightly as if she'd finally figured things out for herself and she looked up into Amy's eyes hoping that what she said next, Amy would believe. "What Riley and I had…well, it's over. I know that now." Amy only nodded, unable to do anything else.

She really wanted to believe in what Lucy was telling her, but the fact of the matter was they weren't even supposed to be having this conversation, a conversation about feelings and past relationships. A conversation that wasn't supposed to matter because in the end, when it was all said and done, she was going to have to arrest this woman. A woman she now knew was more to her than just another operation, just another mission.

Amy's heart broke as she listened to Lucy's confession, hoping despite herself that she was hearing what she thought she was. Amy brought her hands forward and cupped Lucy's face, pulling the girl closer. "Tell me what you want," Amy whispered against Lucy's lips as Lucy leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her.

Lucy leaned back a little so she could look directly into Amy's eyes. "I want you Amy," Lucy spoke the simple truth. No matter how many times she had told herself otherwise, no matter how little sense it made and how impossible it all was, Lucy was done denying what seemed so obvious now. From the first moment she had laid eyes on the blonde there had been some sort of connection. And while it was likely to end in a spectacular fiery wreck, she wanted to see where it went.

Amy's heart fluttered at Lucy's revelation as she threw her arms around Lucy's neck, pulling her forward and crushed her lips to the other girls. "I want you," Lucy said again as she pulled her mouth away and wrapped her arms tighter around Amy, burying her face against her neck.

They stayed that way for a long moment, their arms wrapped around each other, heads resting lightly against the other. It was again Amy who moved first and turned in Lucy's arms, putting her back to Lucy's front against the car. "So what now?" Amy spoke into the night.

A mischievous smile grew on Lucy's lips. "Well, we can climb into the back seat and have sex." Amy laughed heartily at Lucy's suggestion. The thought of Lucy having her way with her in the back seat of her car was certainly appealing. There was just one small problem with that.

"Lucy, in case you might have missed it, this car doesn't have a back seat."

"No?" Lucy asked at Amy's laughing outburst. She had wanted to lighten the mood after the serious tone the conversation had taken. "Well damn." Lucy said as she kissed the side of Amy's head and wrapped her arms around her tighter. After a few moments Lucy leaned over so she could look at the blonde's face and as an afterthought she added, "But if there _was_ a backseat, you'd be down right?"

Amy laughed genuinely again and turned to face Lucy and gave her a chaste kiss and appeared to be thinking it through. "Maybe," was all she said before placing another kiss on the brunette's pouty lips.

Lucy playfully rolled her eyes in response. "I guess I'll just take you home then so you can get all hot and sexy for me tonight."

Amy turned in Lucy's arms at the comment. "Oh? What's going on tonight?"

Lucy ran a hand over the blonde's head before she spoke. "There's a meeting tonight about this big race coming up and I think you guys should be there."

Amy rolled her eyes not so playfully. "Business as usual."

"Oh baby…I can definitely make it all about pleasure if you'd like," Lucy told her nuzzling her neck and then placing a kiss on it.

The low octave in which it was said coupled with the kiss, brought goose bumps out on Amy's skin. Lucy continued to nuzzle against her and place a string of kisses along her neck. Amy tilted her head to allow her more access and spoke through her lust induced haze. "I'm definitely holding you to that. Later." Amy told her as she pulled back. "So about tonight…" Amy trailed off.

_Ever the dedicated agent,_ Lucy thought as she sighed and leaned back against the car. "Yeah…it's just the basic meet and greet really. Should be all play and no work," Lucy told Amy with a slight wiggle of her brows. Amy laughed at the action and smoothed a finger over Lucy's brow. "Oh," Lucy added as an afterthought. "I kinda invited your other roommate as well." Amy's brows furrowed at this. "You know, the rambley chick that won't shut up?"

"Oh, you mean Janet?" Amy asked, a bit taken a back, confused as to why Lucy would bother. "Why?"

Lucy shrugged. "I figured it'd give Max a coronary," she chuckled, thinking back to the Max's reaction when she initially told Janet she was welcome to attend. "Plus, she was getting on my nerves and it was the only means of escape," Lucy admitted sheepishly.

Amy couldn't help but laugh, though it was more from relief that she wouldn't have to try and convince Max that Janet should join them in the field, Janet had gotten an invite from Lucy herself. "Yeah, Janet is kind of in your face, I'm sure she'll have a great time."

Lucy nodded, not really wanting to reveal her ulterior motive for inviting the bumbling D.E.B. along. Glancing at the now dark sky, Lucy realized if she was still going to drop Amy off and then go home to get ready, she was going to have to leave soon. She leaned in and gave Amy one last passionate kiss before she made got off the car. They both moved to their respective sides and entered the vehicle. Once inside, Lucy looked over to Amy with a smile and leaned in, Amy didn't hesitate to meet her half way and place a kiss on her lips. Lucy smile her million watt smile as she brought the engine to life and pulled away from the place that she knew had now become hers and Amy's, lighthearted and content, at least for the moment.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Yep! It's an update. We're sorry that it's been so long, you may have to go back to the last chapter to figure out just what's going on and what to look forward too. We will admit to venturing out into other projects, those in which had been more fruitful on the review front, which is mainly the problem with updating more frequently with this fic. We certainly don't want to be those authors who threaten to hold chapters hostage unless we get reviews but the fact of the matter is, reviews are what keep authors motivated to write and seeing as we generally produce about 20-35 pages per chapter, it's a lot of grueling work to only have it seem that it's all for nothing. So please review, it'd be greatly appreciated :D**

**For those who are still reading, we promised ourselves that we'd finished this fic, but we can't promise that we'll update more frequently without more interest shown. For those who have shown interest and have reviewed and pm'd asking for updates and wanting to know more about the story (you know who you are :P), it is greatly appreciated and don't ever think we're bothered by it. **

**This chapter is our longest page-wise (40!) to date. We previously stated that we were going to do shorter chapters, thus making the time between updates shorter, but as you can see that hasn't happened. **

**On that note there is a poll on the profile page regarding the length of future chapters.**

**I feel I have been long-winded enough so without further ado, here is the next chapter and know that the next has already been started, although we can't be time specific on an update. **

**And if you got abot a million update alerts in your inbox thats because was acting screwy, so sorry!**

**Chapter 10**

* * *

Lucy pulled up to her front gate, impatiently waiting for the guard to buzz her through. She would have preferred to have some type of electronic transmitter, but Scud had launched into a lecture about insecure frequencies, hackers, and there being no substitute for a human - with a gun, so she had conceded the point without too much of a fight. Usually it wasn't an issue, but when she was in a hurry, like now, it just added one more unnecessary annoyance to her day. Drumming her fingers on her steering wheel, she finally saw the gate start to slide open so she shifted the car into first and wasted no time in accelerating up her driveway.

Pulling the car to a quick halt at the mansion's main entrance, she hopped out and tossed the keys to one of the garage attendants; she typically liked to take care of her cars herself, but was in a rush and didn't want to take the time. She had spent a little longer than planned with Amy, and now found herself a bit pressed for time seeing as she wanted to get ready and not be late for tonight's meeting at the warehouse in a little over an hour.

She had barely started to cross the foyer, before she was accosted.

"Lucy! Where the hell have you been?" Lucy emitted a small sigh and continued on her path, not having the time to stop and argue with Scud. Again.

"Scud, now's not the time. I have to get ready." Lucy breezed past him and started to ascend the large double stair case, not really surprised when Scud followed close on her heels.

"Well if you hadn't disappeared all afternoon you would have had plenty of time to get ready and go over the security details for tonight's meeting," Scud complained.

"Security details?" Lucy questioned as she finally reached the door to her room and yanked it open, striding quickly over to her closet. Since the vast majority of her wardrobe was in varying shades of black, the decision making process should prove to be a short one.

Scud put his hand over his face and rubbed it vigorously; he took a deep breath and counted to ten before he spoke. "Yes, security details. That include, oh I don't know, rival families in the city, likely carrying guns and grudges. You do know what guns are right? They're those metallic objects that leave nasty little holes, sometime big ones and possibly fatal ones in flesh," Scud bit out sarcastically. "So yes! Security details."

Lucy turned around and narrowed her eyes, pinning Scud with a glare. "Is that your idea of humor?"

Scud sighed heavily. "No Lucy, it's my idea of getting you to take your safety as well as the safety of those in your organization seriously."

"What?" Lucy shot him a look of indignation. "I do take it serious; it's why you're in charge. I know with your ability to overreact…,"

"See!" Scud threw his arms up dramatically.

"Okay, okay." Lucy had the decency to look apologetic as she walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What I meant was, with your ability to pay attention to detail I know that we're all in good hands."

Scud scoffed at his friend's attempt at coddling. "Right."

Lucy squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "No really Scud, you're doing a great job."

Scud brightened and smiled shyly at the sincerity of his friend's words. "Thanks Luce."

"No problem." She smiled brilliantly at him. "Now turn around." Lucy pushed at his shoulder before walking back to her wardrobe and selecting a shirt.

"What?" Scud shot her a look of disbelief, which she returned with a flat stare. "Seriously? Do you really think my one goal in life is to sneak a peek? I'm offended," Scud huffed.

"Be offended all you want, as long as your eyes are pointed in the opposite direction," Lucy insisted. After pouting for a few more seconds, Scud finally turned around, and Lucy wasted little time in stripping off her shirt.

"So what was this thing you had to take care of that simply couldn't wait?" Scud asked, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Oh uh, it's nothing for you to worry about," Lucy replied evasively.

"Right. Let me guess, Amy?" Scud asked with an eye roll.

"Yeah," Lucy answered, her voice a bit muffled as she pulled the new blouse on over her head and smiled involuntarily at hearing the blonde's name.

"Well in choosing the lesser of two evils, I guess it's good you didn't go scurrying after Riley instead. At least we know what the D.E.B. is after. But really, how much longer is this thing with her going to take? Having her and her partner around splits my focus even more. I mean are you having _that_ hard of a time convincing her to sleep with you?" Scud grumbled.

"Excuse me, I do not have to _convince_ anyone to sleep with me, people are more than happy to oblige. Besides it has only been like, what? A month since we met." Lucy defended.

"Exactly my point. You usually don't spend this much time chasing after a girl you just want to sleep with. I don't understand why you're dragging this out. Unless of course, you're actually developing feelings for her." Scud waited for some type of rebuttal or some crass remark of only wanting to get into the agents pants, but upon not receiving one he pressed forward. "You do realize that would be stupid, right?"

Lucy rolled her eyes, which did no good since Scud was facing in the opposite direction. "Whatever. Can we not talk about who I am or rather who I'm not sleeping with? Your interest in my sex life is a little disturbing." Lucy replied a little miffed as she picked out a pair of her patent black leather pants to match her shirt and quickly started the process of putting them on. She couldn't decide whether it was from the fact that Scud would imply Amy needed 'convincing' to sleep with her or the fact that Scud was dead on with the fact that feelings were definitely being developed for her supposed nemesis.

"Okay, fine," Scud relented, "let's talk about the security details."

Lucy sighed heavily as she sharply turned around. "Look Scud, go over all that with Dom okay. She's the one that works the circuit; wouldn't it make more sense to go over all of that with her and the crew?"

"Dom?" Scud said incredulously. "She's about as likely to listen to me as you are right now! You know she lives to torture me!"

"That's not true. Believe it or not, Dom looks up to you."

Scud scoffed, "That's only because I'm taller than she is. Dominique is a pain in my ass and you know it."

As if on cue, the buoyant younger girl appeared. "That pain you're having in your ass might be the reason you aren't looking at any girls." Dominique accused with a huge grin as she strolled into the room and lightly hit her brother in the arm. "Maybe we're wrong in sending chicks his way. What do you think, Luce?" She threw a look over her brother's shoulder and caught the brunette's eyes in the floor to ceiling mirror she was standing in front.

Lucy shot her a wink. "I certainly hope not."

"Hey, hey," Scud held up a dismissive hand at the idea of what his sister was implying, "it's a proverbial pain, not a tangible one."

Both girls laughed and Dominique walked further into the room. "Well good, because it probably wouldn't go over well with the girl I invited tonight," Lucy revealed.

"Oh?" Dominique raised an amused, inquisitive brow.

Scud groaned and ran a hand over his face. "Dear god, what did you do Lucy?"

"I didn't do anything," Lucy said as she turned around.

"No seriously, what did you do?" Scud pressed.

"I just told you, I didn't do anything," Lucy smirked, "I just invited a friend…well; she's not really a friend, more like a friend of a friend."

"Since when do you have friends outside of the people standing in this room Lucy? I want first and last names and date of births if you have them; I need to run them through my database."

"There is seriously something wrong with you," Dominique remarked, shaking her head at her neurotic older sibling.

Lucy only chuckled as she spun away from the mirror. "Okay Scud, you can turn around now." Lucy stood with her arms out to the side and shifted her gaze back and forth between her two best friends. "Okay, so how do I look?"

Scud turned around and merely glanced at what Lucy was wearing. He really didn't have time for this; there were more important things he had to worry about than his boss's fashion sense.

"You look fine," he finally replied.

Dominique, however, ran a more critical eye over Lucy. "That's really what you're wearing?" she asked dubiously as she walked over to Lucy's closet.

Lucy looked down at her top and frowned. "What's wrong with it? Scud just said it looked fine."

Dominique paused in her perusal of Lucy's still rather limited wardrobe to look back over her shoulder at the pouting brunette. "I rest my case. Taking fashion advice from Scud is like….taking sex advice from Scud." She concluded, turning back to the clothes. Finally finding a shirt that met her approval, she took the hanger and tossed the garment to Lucy. "Here."

Lucy looked down at the shirt, which was really little more than two triangles of fabric, tied together at the top and bottom, black of course. She glanced over at Scud and shot him an expectant look. He threw his hands up with a scoff as he turned around.

Lucy shrugged out of the blouse she had on she donned the new garment. She walked up to the mirror once again and eyed the results. A plunging neckline that revealed a good amount of cleavage. Turning slightly she saw that the open back of the shirt left her completely bare from the nape of her neck to the small of her back. The shirt left very little to the imagination, but she had to admit, she looked damn hot. Hiding her gun was going to be a bitch though.

"Well?" She asked Dom, turning to the younger girl for final approval.

"I'd hit it," Dom said with a smirk.

Lucy rolled her eyes and laughed. "Well that's really not saying all that much, but I'll take it as a compliment. Scud, what do you think?"

"Oh, I can turn around now?" He asked sarcastically.

"You can."

He did so and this time he ran an appraising eye over his longtime friend. Objectively, he knew she looked good; however, the fact that she was practically a sister to him kind of threw objectivity out the window. Plus, there was the fact that the shirt she was wearing revealed a little too much for his liking for said practical sister. "This is retarded," he deadpanned.

Lucy turned back to face the mirror and cocked her head to the side. "What is? The shirt?"

"No not the shirt," Scud retorted. "This," he indicated, flailing his hands around and waiving them in Lucy's direction. "The fact that you are acting like a school-girl about to go on her first date instead of the head of a multi-national crime syndicate."

Lucy scoffed. "I would rather be a school-girl than a schoolmarm."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that there are celibate nuns that get more action then you Scud. You need to be open."

"Open to what?"

"Open to sex," Dominique replied with a smirk.

"I am open to sex!" Scud insisted, raising his voice as he looked back and forth at the two girls that were seemingly ganging up on him. Again.

"Sure you are," Lucy replied disbelievingly. "What about that girl last week?"

"What girl?" Scud racked his brain and drew a blank on who Lucy meant.

"At the hangar. The red head. The on with the nice rack. She was totally into you, what went wrong there?"

"Oh you mean the red head that Dom picked out for me? But then decided to take for herself? That red head?" Scud questioned sarcastically.

"Hey I didn't take her," Dominique defended. "You clearly weren't interested so I stepped in and showed her the more exciting side of our gene pool."

"I'm exciting! It may not be in the form of fast engines or seeing how many girls I can have sex with in a week…but I'm exciting damnit!" Scud proclaimed assertively.

"Locking yourself away in your control room and playing with your joystick with no companionship is not fun nor is it good for you," Lucy insisted. "And that's why I am ordering you to have fun tonight."

"I do not have a joystick!" Scud cried outraged. "It is a state of the art holographic touch screen interface."

"And there you go referring to your sexuality again," Dominique teased causing a chuckle from Lucy.

Scud frowned in confusion. "What?" Suddenly realization dawned and he rolled his eyes. "I swear to god the two of you have the sense of humor and maturity of developmentally stunted 12 year old boys."

"No, you just don't have a sense of humor," Lucy retorted as she continued to examine her reflection. "So…about the shirt."

"The shirt looks fine," Scud threw up his hands in frustration. "I don't know why you're worrying so much about impressing this girl. If things goes south with the D.E.B, so what, you just want to screw her anyway, right? And if it doesn't work out that way? As far as I'm concerned, it's for the best and you won't have any trouble finding a replacement. Plus, then I can be rid of the meddling agents." Lucy once again remained silent on just what her position was where her feelings for Amy were concerned, not wanting to tell Scud that she had come to realize that Amy wasn't just another girl.

Able to see her face this time around, Scud caught sight of her biting her lip in the mirror and frowned. Oh God. He knew that look. Not again, not now, and dear God especially not her. "Are you out of your mind?" He yelled, causing Lucy to whirl around.

"What?" She questioned defensively.

"What!" Scud cried. He pointed his finger at her accusingly. "You like her. Not just, 'gee I wouldn't mind spending a few hours in bed with you 'like'…but genuine affection." Scud began to pace waving his arms agitatedly. "I can't believe you. This is so not the time for this. You've just gotten back, there are so many things that need to be worked out and you decide to go and fall in love. With a D.E.B. no less," he spat in disgust.

Dominique only stood and watched the scene between the two, mildly amused. She hoped Scud was simply over exaggerating about the falling in love bit. However, she'd known the criminal mastermind long enough to know that she wouldn't waste as much time coddling and doting over the blonde as she has if she didn't have genuine feelings for her.

She had to admit, even if it meant Scud was right, that she trusted his judgment when it came to their well-being and she knew Lucy was playing a very dangerous game. It was not smart to invest any real feelings in the blonde agent. Plus, there was the fact that she turned down a very hot and willingly Riley Schaffer and probably because of the blonde in question. Dominique didn't know whether she was more disappointed in her friend over that or the fact that she really could be falling in love with the enemy.

"Hey, I never said I was in love with her," Lucy quickly countered. She had barely just admitted to herself that she wanted more than a quick roll in the sack with the blonde. It was way too early to be throwing the "L" word around.

Scud shot her an annoyed look. "Do you have any idea who she is?"

Lucy looked at scud with an "um duh" expression on her face. "A D.E.B.S agent?" She hazarded.

Scud shook his head. "She's the _Perfect Score_," Scud said, imbuing the words with heavy significance.

"Right. You told me that already. So she's smart on top of being hot. That's a problem because?"

"It's a problem because, she's not just smart. She's the Perfect Score," he reiterated.

"Okay you've said that already, get to your point already," Dominique stated annoyed, she suddenly seemed more interested in Scud's reasoning for wanting to keep the agent away.

He only shot her a look before continuing. "Do you have any idea how many people have scored a perfect score on the test?" Scud asked, trying to impress upon Lucy just what a horrible idea pursing the blonde further would be.

Lucy crinkled her brow. "No. Unlike you I have a life that involves not spending all my time in front of a computer monitor, oh sorry, state of the art holographic touch screen interface."

Scud glowered at her in response, refusing to rise to the bait. "Two. Two people have scored a perfect score on that test. Care to guess who the other was?" Lucy crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow in response. "The head of the D.E.B.S. organization, a shadowy figure, virtually nothing is known about her, except that she goes by the moniker Ms. Petrie."

"Your point?" Lucy questioned impatiently.

"My point is that the only other person to score that well is now head of that organization."

"What does all this mean Scud? What do you think all of this has to do with Amy?" Dominique asked.

"It means they're probably grooming Amy to be her replacement. This means, that landing Lucy in a prison cell for life will only be a feather in her little plaid hat as she makes her way to head D.E.B. It'll be a story she preaches to the subordinates to make them 'do better'," Scud said mockingly. "Hell, I'm actually shocked that she hasn't jumped into bed with you yet in attempt to get you to fall more than you have for her."

"Okay Scud, that's enough," Dominique asserted as she looked to Lucy; she could see a red tint creeping up the brunette's neck and saw her chiseled jaw clench and unclench. She was pissed. But from what she couldn't tell. Was it at Scud for having such a big mouth? Or was it at the blonde for trying to make a fool out of her?

"No Dom, it's not." Scud looked back to Lucy and he knew he was treading lightly but persisted anyway. "As long as you were just looking to bed her I was willing to stay quiet, since it shouldn't have taken long. But she's a D.E.B…_the_ D.E.B., and I think you've underestimated the situation here because now you have the look of a love sick puppy. You simply cannot fall for this girl Lucy," Scud pleaded.

"Don't tell me what I can't do Scud," Lucy replied flatly as she turned away refusing to let her anger get the best of her right now. "So she's like some super spy." Lucy shrugged trying to make light of the situation even though there was a range of emotions going through her. "Just makes it more challenging."

Though she wouldn't let it show, part of her anger was due to her uneasiness upon hearing this latest development. Okay so it wasn't really a new development, but it was the first time she was really paying attention to it. Meaning, it had smacked her square in the face with the reality that she was being looked at as just a stepping stone to the top. Yes, it seemed the blonde was playing her just as hard as she was playing the blonde.

Despite her and Amy's recent conversation and what seemed like a step forward in their relationship, she knew there was the very real possibility that Amy had simply slipped into the role that she so easily set up in trying to make her another notch on her diamond studded belt.

"Challenging? You know what's going to be challenging, Lucy? You trying to figure out how to break out of a maximum security prison when you only get one hour of free-time a day," Scud groused.

Dominique couldn't help the smirk that broke out on her face at her brother's response. He was quick and funny when he wanted to be.

Lucy however was not amused. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Out," she ordered Scud.

"Why do I have to leave? I haven't even gotten chance to go over the security details," Scud griped.

"Well you should have thought about that before you decided to lecture me on my love life," Lucy responded.

"Oh did you finally get one?" Dom quipped, perking up a bit from the heavy conversation that just ensued. "I was starting to think that Iceland had put your libido in the deep freeze. You haven't gotten any play since you've been home."

"Well that's because Lucy here is holding out for her one true love," Scud mocked, batting his eyelashes.

"Out!" Lucy ordered, pointing towards her bedroom door.

Scud grumbled under his breath, but made his way toward the door. He did still have actual work to do in the form of a final check in with his staff to make sure that everything was completely set for tonight. There would be no mistakes or untimely deaths, not on his watch.

"I assume his little tirade had something to do with where you've been all afternoon," Dom said as she plopped into one of the chairs Lucy had set up near her closet. Lucy bit her bottom lip and sent Dom a sideways glance. Dom was far less prone to hysterical over reactions and wouldn't judge her; however, given the recent conversation she knew Amy looked far less inviting to Dominique's usually encouraging nature.

Finally Lucy nodded her head and she also sat down so she could put on her boots. "Yeah, he threw a hissy fit as soon as I walked through the door."

"Yeah, I figured he would. But I take it things went well with your girl?" Dominique inquired, not pleased that Lucy was making her fish for information. Normally they'd chat it up like hormonal teenage girls when it came to their current fling, or in Dom's case, flings.

"Yeah, we talked shit out. I had to tell her about Riley though, but I'm sure it wasn't something she didn't already know," Lucy explained.

Dom sent her a measured look, before shaking her head ruefully. "You just couldn't help yourself could you?" She questioned with a small laugh.

Lucy grimaced slightly and shrugged, blowing the bangs out of her eyes. "What can I say; I'm a sucker for a blonde in uniform."

"She's undercover, so technically she doesn't wear a uniform," Dom pointed out.

Lucy smirked. "Yeah, under cover…well not yet anyway, but that is still the plan." When Dom looked at her in mild surprise, Lucy smiled and said, "What? Okay so I actually like the girl," she shrugged, finally admitting it to someone other than herself. "That doesn't mean I don't still want to get her between her legs and the sooner the better, right?"

Dom only laughed and nodded, "Right."

"Right," Lucy repeated, hoping she sounded convincing in her portrayal that she was still in control of the situation. Lucy turned around, admiring herself in the mirror again. "Are you sure I look okay?"

"She'll be eating out of the palm of your hand," Dominique reassured.

"Yeah well, let's hope she'll be eating from a lot more places than my palms," Lucy turned with a sly grin and a wink, causing Dominique to let out a mirthful laugh.

"Okay, so since I know you have the D.E.B. under control, I have to know, just who the hell did you invite tonight for Scud and how much did you have to pay her?" Dominique asked, wanting to know just what Lucy had up her sleeve.

Lucy grinned as she turned her head to glance at Dom. "You remember the bumbling waitress from the D.E.B.S. café setup?"

Dominique's face lit up as she remembered to whom Lucy was referring. She'd only been at the government front once and the chatty girl in question was certainly memorable. "You're setting him up with a D.E.B.?" Lucy's grin widened as she nodded in affirmation. "That's brilliant." Dominique let out another genuine laugh. "You do realize he's going to kill you once he finds out?"

"Probably. It's why he can't find out. I mean I'm sure he will, but it'll be on his own."

"Well he won't find out from me. In fact, I wish I could be around when he does find out. It will be a classic Scud freak out I'm sure."

"Oh I'm sure of it as well," Lucy agreed. "But I swear, they seem perfectly matched. It's just something about her that I think he'll go for. Oh and by the way?" Dom raised an inquisitive brow. "She's Amy and Max's _roommate." _Lucy put emphasis on the last word.

"Damn. Another plant for the Big Bad Lucy Diamond." Dom laughed again. "How'd you get so lucky?"

"Fuck if I know." Lucy told her and grabbed her leather jacket as she glanced down at her wrist watch and frowned as she bit back a curse. "Okay, it's getting late. Let's get the crew together and get the hell out of here."

* * *

Max sat back against the couch and violently turned the page of her Auto Trader magazine. She'd been ready to leave half an hour ago, and like always, she was waiting for Amy and Janet. She swore under her breath as the next page tore in half.

She quickly closed the magazine and threw it on their brand new IKEA coffee table. Janet hadn't been content to stop at the new sofa and had deemed it necessary to make her living conditions as pleasant as possible. This meant that she had given her meager living area a complete makeover. Dinette set, end tables, dishes, curtains, throw pillows; Max felt like she had landed in a fucking Martha Stewart catalog.

Growing more impatient, Max stood abruptly, readying herself to blow another gasket. Just as she was about to head towards Amy's room where the two girls were still getting ready, Janet came barreling into the living room.

"Have you seen my gun?" Janet asked as she frantically began to lift the magazines that were strewn across the coffee table. "I could've sworn I left it in my holster."

Max rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh. "Okay you two have five minutes or I'm leaving without you." She said it loudly enough so that Amy would hear her declaration as well.

Janet shot Max a look of concern, knowing very well that Max would like nothing better than to leave her behind. However, it was protocol that she be armed when engaging in dangerous field assignments. So it was imperative that she find her weapon.

Max leaned against the wall with her arms folded and looked meaningfully down at her wrist watch. "Four minutes," she stated loudly.

Now on her knees looking under the couch Janet gave an indignant squeak as she continued her search.

Max only chuckled as she glanced down at her watch. "Three minutes," she announced.

"Max!" Janet yelled as she stood and brushed the invisible wrinkles out of her skirt. Max raised a questioning brow. "You can at least help me look!"

"Two minutes," Max deadpanned as she remained in place.

"Fine," Janet huffed as she snatched a cushion off the sofa. "Oh my god!" Her face lit up. "Here it is!" She promptly reached down and grabbed her missing .45 caliber weapon and showed it to Max.

Max only rolled her eyes again. "Fuck this," she bristled as she pushed herself away from the wall. "AMMMMMY!"

"God! I'm right here. No need to yell." The blonde appeared suddenly.

Max fixed her with a glare. "Whatever. Let's just go. But before we do, let's just get a few things straight. You." She fixed Janet with a glower. "You do not say anything to anyone. If asked and only if asked, you tell them that you know us from working at Mr. P's. You're new in town, been here for a couple of weeks and since you don't know anyone, we're just showing you around." Janet opened her mouth to say something but was quickly cut off as Max held up a dismissive hand.

"But…," Janet tried to continue.

"Zip." Max abruptly cut her off again by making a zipping motion across her lips, causing Janet to stand down submissively.

"And you." She turned her attention to Amy. "You just try to stick close to Lucy, which I can see you probably are already planning to do." She looked Amy up and down taking note of the extremely short leather skirt and backless halter top. "But if she starts to cozy up to Schaffer, please try to play it cool and not fly off into your jealous girlfriend routine."

Amy frowned involuntarily at the mention of Riley. "Why would you assume that Riley is going to be there?"

Max shot the other agent a slightly surprised look. "Well are you sure that you got the address that Lucy gave you correct?"

Amy nodded, still not really seeing how that was at all relevant.

Max smirked. "Well then I think the answer to that question should be rather obvious."

"Max..," Amy said in a warning tone. This day had been a bit of an emotional roller coaster and she really wasn't in the mood to play twenty questions with her partner.

"Well for once if this is a circuit related event. I can assure you Riley Schaffer will be attending. After all she is the biggest contender in L.A. other than the Reynolds. Besides, while the two were spending precious pre-mission planning time primping, one of us was actually doing her job," Max replied condescendingly. "I had Phipp's run down the address that you gave me. It came back to an R.E.S. Shipping & Import…" Max let the sentence trail off meaningfully, clearly expecting Amy to make a connection.

"And…?" the blonde questioned in irritation.

Max raised an eyebrow in challenge. "And I figured with all the research you've been doing on Schaffer you would recognize that as one of her subsidiary holdings. It tracks back to a storage warehouse down by the pier," Max finished smugly.

Amy felt her cheeks flush hotly, a combination of embarrassment and irritation. No sooner had she and Lucy reached some kind of understanding and then she was dragging her off to a party at her ex's. Marshaling her confidence, she met Max's challenging stare.

"So Riley will be there," Amy shrugged her shoulders, "like you said, she's a major player in the racing circuit, so that's hardly surprising. It doesn't mean anything, it's just business," Amy insisted. Max looked at her skeptically. "What?" Amy crossed her arms across her chest, taking a defensive posture.

"Whatever you say Bradshaw," Max responded with a roll of her eyes. "All I'm saying is if Lucy does cozy up to her ex, that you play it cool and remember our prime objective."

It was Amy's turn to roll her eyes. "I can assure you Max, I know how to do my job," she retorted hotly.

"I'm sure you do," Max responded, somewhat condescendingly. "Okay enough chatting. Let's do this."

Pulling the car to a stop by the warehouse for R.E.S. Shipping, Max looked into the backseat at the practically vibrating brunette. She had been chattering to herself almost non-stop on the drive over and Max was on the verge of strangling her.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to do this?" Max asked in irritation. "You are bouncing around like a fucking chipmunk on crack, and if you keep it up you are going to blow our cover wide open."

Janet momentarily stopped bouncing on the back seat and sat on her hands. She nodded her head sharply in the affirmative. "I'm sure. I can do this. I'm just excited; this is my first real undercover assignment."

Max narrowed her eyes at the ditzy brunette and pinned her with a sharp glare. "See that you do. If you fuck this up for us, there won't be enough left of the body for them to identify."

Janet paled slightly but nodded her head in understanding.

"You'll do fine Janet." Amy turned slightly in her seat to look at the inexperienced agent. "Just be cool and try not to stand out."

"She has a cardigan wrapped around her shoulders at a street racing event, I highly doubt she'll blend right in," Max pointed out.

"Hey," Janet cried indignantly. "I didn't know if we were going to be inside or out. I wanted to be prepared, plus it was on sale."

"I don't remember you buying that when we were out. Where'd you get it?" Amy inquired.

"Target," Janet said cheerfully.

"No way!"

"Uh huh, I also have it in taupe," Janet smoothed her hands along the arms of the sweater around her neck.

"What the hell? This isn't a red carpet event! Will you two stop acting like Joan and Melissa Rivers and get your heads in the game. Ms. Petrie is already on our asses about the progress of the mission and here you are talking fashion," Max yelled, glancing between the two.

Amy, fed up with Max's endless lectures and her forever sour mood, grabbed the door handle and opened the door. Janet, seeing an escape route quickly reached for the lever that would slide the passenger seat forward. She had totally called shotgun but Max and Amy had just ignored her and made her cram into the not so spacious back seat of Max's beloved car.

"We get it Max," Amy said impatiently. "Can we please just get on with it?"

"Fine," Max grumbled, getting out of the door and slamming it shut. Janet scrambled out of the passenger side and began trying to smooth the wrinkles and creases out of her outfit. Shooting once last dark glare at the unwanted third wheel, Max started stalking toward the warehouse entrance.

Stepping into the interior of the cavernous building, Amy was hit by a wall of sound. Much like the party that Lucy had hosted at the hangar, the music was loud, the crowd was thick, and the lighting was dim. Quickly scanning the crowd she tried to spot the brunette, but realized it would be a fairly futile endeavor.

Knowing that she and Lucy had made no arrangement to meet at a designated time or spot, Amy bit back a curse when she realized she was going to have to wade into the teeming mass of people to try to locate her quarry. She hope she found her be sooner rather than later seeing as she was desperately missing the brunette.

Amy's mind hadn't strayed from the criminal mastermind since she'd left her this afternoon, and knowing she was somewhere in the room made her heart beat pick up in excitement and giddy anticipation. Turning to her companions she yelled in an effort to be heard over the music, "I need to go find Lucy!"

"What?" Janet yelled wrinkling her eyebrows in confusion, and cupping a hand around her ear in an effort to hear.

"I said I need to go find Lucy!" Amy shouted again, leaning in a bit closer.

Still frowning in confusion Janet again yelled, "What?"

Growing tired of trying to communicate, Amy drew in a deep breath and prepared to yell at the top of her lungs, since that was apparently what it was going to take to be heard over the background noise. "I said I need to find Lucy!" Amy heard her voice echo around the large room. She squeezed her eyes shut she flushed bright red in embarrassment.

Seconds later the crackle of the PA system could be heard as a DJ took control of the mic. "Sorry about that folks, we had a minor technical difficulty. And though I'm sure you heard it, Lucy someone is apparently looking for you," the DJ teased jokingly before turning the music back on, at a somewhat less earsplitting level.

"There was no need to yell," Janet teased the flustered blonde, who simply stared daggers at her in response.

Before she could form a properly scathing retort, Lucy seemed to materialize out of thin air. Smiling playfully she walked over to stand close beside the blonde. "So...word is you're looking for me?"

Amy's eyes widened as she took in the sight of the stunning brunette. Her heart fluttered and she immediately wanted to throw her arms around the dark-haired girl and kiss her senseless. However, the flush of embarrassment, which had been starting to subside, made a sudden and unwelcome reappearance. "Oh you heard that? I thought I was fairly subtle," Amy smiled, trying to make a joke out of her mortification.

Lucy smiled back and allowed her eyes to roam over the blonde's barely there attire. She licked her lips unconsciously as she took in the shapely hips, made more enticing by the tight leather skirt she was wearing before she remembered her manners and turned to greet the other two women in the group. "Max, Janet," she said with a nod in each of their directions, "glad you could make it this evening."

Max not interested in making small talk used the time to survey the room. Taking in the large bank of monitors on the far wall Max turned to Lucy and asked, "Is there going to be racing tonight?"

Lucy laughed and nodded her head. "With this crowd? Of course. But not by you, so no need to concern yourself with it. Tonight is just for you and Amy to relax, get to know some of the other people on the circuit and scope out the competition. All play, no work. That's an order." Lucy made a point to stare at Max as she made the last comment.

Max furrowed her brow in a frown, not liking the idea of being ordered around. The only thing that made mingling with these lowlifes bearable was the chance to show off her racing skills. Learning that she was going to have to talk, mingle and play nice with no chance of a race was a complete buzz kill.

"Well since you're taking all of the fun out of my night, I think I'll go have a look around," Max replied; even chatting with criminals was better than spending the whole night in Janet's annoying presence or watching Amy drool all over Lucy. "And Amy, try to remember what I told you earlier."

Amy crossed her arms over her chest and shot her partner an annoyed look. "I remember Max." Max maintained eye contact for a few seconds longer before nodding her head and moving off into the crowd

Lucy watched the interplay between the two wordlessly, her interest was piqued, but she decided to leave it alone for now. "C'mon," she ordered, turning away and motioning with her hand for the others to follow, "Let's go have a drink." Amy obligingly started to follow the brunette crime boss, but Janet held back.

"Oh, not to be rude, but I'm going to have to pass. Alcohol and I don't mix well." Janet politely declined Lucy's offer.

"Oh?" Lucy raised an inquisitive brow while Amy was silently thanking the younger girl for dismissing herself. She was more than a little eager to be alone with the brunette.

"Oh yes. There was this one time in Bulgaria…," Janet started.

"Janet!" Amy interjected, thinking back to drunken incident Janet was referring too and knowing this was definitely not the place to bring that up. "Why don't you just go have a look around?" Upon seeing Amy's glare, Janet quickly understood her mistake and briskly walked away.

Lucy looked suspiciously between the two. The seed that Scud had planted with his lecture was already playing tricks on her mind. Now, having the three D.E.B.S act so peculiarly and giving obvious looks with underlying messages was making things worse.

"Looks like you have me all to yourself then," Lucy told Amy as she motioned for the blonde to follow her once again, trying to dismiss her worries. Scud was making her paranoid.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Amy replied in a flirtatious tone that said she was more than ready to be alone with the raven-haired girl.

As they weaved through the throng of people, Lucy's curiosity finally got the best of her. "So what was Janet doing in Bulgaria?" Once Scud found out he had another D.E.B. on his hand, she was sure he'd find out everything there was to know on the quirky brunette, but for now she had to result to asking her own questions.

"Oh, she used to do missionary work with the Red Cross," Amy lied easily. "She got drunk one night and gave the Chancellor of Bulgaria an injection with something he was highly allergic too. It almost killed him. Needless to say she was sent back to the States and that effectively ended any career she may have hoped to have in medicine."

Lucy only nodded at the farfetched story, not really caring about the brunette's past. "And what was that comment with Max all about?" This was what was really nagging at Lucy's mind. Between the two, Max was the one that seemed to be in charge of this mission, so whatever the comment was about; it surely had to do with her.

"Oh nothing," Amy hedged, doing nothing to ally the brunette's suspicions. "She just warned me not to drink too much and make an idiot of myself. For some reason she thinks that since we're not working tomorrow I won't be able to control myself." Amy smiled confidently at the brunette, pleased with the explanations she'd given. After all, she was the perfect liar.

"Ah, so you're a wild one when you've had too much to drink. I'll have to remember that." Lucy smirked, not quite buying the blonde's explanation, but not really wanting to press it seeing as it would probably lead to more unwanted questions and even more made up answers.

"No, not exactly," Amy laughed.

Lucy paused briefly and subtly brushed her hand against Amy's in a gesture for her to stop as well. She scanned the crowd, obviously looking for someone.

"Something wrong?" Amy asked.

Lucy only shook her head and continued to scan the crowded space before alighting on her target, sulking up against the far wall. "Found him," Lucy said, once again heading off into the crowd.

Amy followed closely behind, taking in the generous expanse of flesh that was on display thanks to Lucy's skimpy top. As Lucy weaved through the crowd Amy couldn't help but appreciate the play of muscles across the brunette's lean back and think about how bad she wanted to scrape her nails over it while Lucy was… _Damnit, focus Bradshaw._

Despite their earlier encounter, Amy had to admit that she was a little disappointed by the Lucy's somewhat distant greeting and the lack of the physical contact she'd quickly grown to crave. There was no subtle, or in Lucy's case, not so subtle touching, nor any overtly flirtatious comments which she had been ready to receive and give back tenfold. She was expecting at least a kiss from the brunette, but when one didn't come she had to admit it, kissing Lucy was something she was definitely getting used too. Something definitely seemed off.

Shaking off her troubled thoughts, she saw that Lucy had been leading them toward Scud. Amy took in his scowling visage as he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. Scud didn't appear to like her even when he was in a good mood, so she could only imagine how he would act in a bad one.

"Wait here." Amy stood back, only too happy to oblige not having to encounter Lucy's second in command just yet. She watched as Lucy closed the remaining distance, the distance and the volume of the surrounding crowd making it impossible for her to eaves drop on their conversation.

"Having a good time?" Lucy joked as she approached Scud. He only narrowed his eyes in response. "Do you know where Dom is?"

"Yeah, she's out back mingling with the rest of the grease monkeys."

Lucy nodded, figuring it would either be that or off scouting out her latest companion for the evening. "Okay. I just want to be sure, if you see her can you give her the heads up that Amy and Max are here? I have Amy with me but Max split off to meet some of the other racers."

"Yeah I heard that Amy was looking for you. She seemed awfully eager to get you in her sights. I wonder what she has in mind." Scud admonished, still trying to get his point across as he made a motion towards Amy.

"Don't start," Lucy warned.

He held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "I'm just saying."

"Believe me, you've said enough," Lucy bristled. "In fact, why don't you go do your job and find out who _that_ girl is." Lucy pointed in the direction of the socially awkward girl that was sitting by the bar, seemingly in her own world as she tapped a foot along to the beat of the music.

Scud narrowed his eyes in the direction of said girl. He took in her overly formal attire, for one of these events anyway, and her proper sitting posture with her hands placed in her lap. Over all, the girl looked way too innocent to be in a place like this. That however, put Scud more on alert. In this business, he'd learn to expect the unexpected when it came to people.

"Who's she with?" He promptly asked while still staring at the girl.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "If I knew that I wouldn't be asking you to check her out. I noticed her earlier and she seems a bit out of place don't you think?"

"Maybe she's lost or something." Scud tried to be dismissive.

"I doubt it. How would she even know about this place or this event? You just don't stumble upon places like this Scud. I mean have you ever seen her before?"

Scud narrowed his eyes, focusing more on the girl. "Not that I can immediately recall."

"Well I can definitely attest to her not being Riley's type," Lucy said with a knowing grin which made Scud roll his eyes, "and if I don't know her and you don't, she's someone we need to worry about. So I suggest you get on it. She could be the very one to spray this whole place in a shower of those little metal objects that leave nasty little holes," Lucy joked, reciting Scud's words from earlier, causing him to glower at her. "Just go strike up a conversation or something. Be social. Be charming. Just be anything but yourself. But find out who she is," Lucy said trying to mask a smile that threatened to break out across her lips.

Scud continued to glower, seeing as both Lucy and Dominique had refused to wear his standard issued earpieces he required whenever they had the displeasure of attending functions hosted by other families, it made him reluctant to leave his spot by the wall. The noise and visibility in the warehouse was making it nearly impossible to keep a proper eye on the brunette, but this spot at least afforded him a pretty good vantage point. He had tried to tail her, but she had about taken his head off and told him to stop hovering.

"You do realize this is totally unacceptable. I'm head of security; I have no business fraternizing at these types of events, especially when they're held at rival venues."

"Look, all I'm asking is for you to go check the girl out, okay? I'll keep an ear out to see if I can find out anything too, and when I touch bases with Riley I'll see what she knows."

Scud shot Lucy a look full of annoyance, but nevertheless pushed off of the wall and began to make his way over to the bar towards the girl. He hated not knowing his foes.

A broad grin crossed Lucy's face as she watched Scud awkwardly wade through the crowd. Proud of herself, she then walked back to blonde she'd left waiting.

"Sorry about the wait," Lucy apologized as she stood next to Amy.

"It's okay," Amy replied understandingly. Even though she couldn't hear the content of their conversation, being a spy had its advantages and she was able to work out by lip reading and eye placement exactly what Lucy was trying to do. "Did he do something to piss you off?" Amy questioned with a laugh and she watched Scud walk up to Janet.

Lucy smirked and shrugged her shoulders carelessly. "No, I just think he needs to loosen up a bit, and I don't think even he will be able to stay stoic in the face of Janet."

"Well that or she will drive him utterly insane."

Lucy chuckled. "Perhaps, but either way he needed a bit of a diversion this evening, otherwise he would just follow me around like an overprotective mother hen all night."

The two lapsed into silence, and Amy shifted nervously from foot to foot. She really didn't understand where this sudden awkwardness had come from. Maybe Lucy was regretting her declaration from earlier this afternoon. "So…um this is quite the party." _God Bradshaw, could you make any lamer small talk._

"Yeah, Riley has always known how to have a good time," Lucy answered without really thinking. As soon as the words were out she wanted to bite her tongue, realizing how that must have sounded to the blonde.

"I'm sure," Amy replied a little coolly with a thin smile.

"I didn't mean that the way it sounded," Lucy hurried to explain.

Amy shook her head. "No it's okay. I mean we already went over this and you explained everything so we're fine." Seeing the slightly troubled expression on the brunette's face Amy asked a little doubtfully, "Right?"

Lucy blinked a few times before nodding her head in agreement. "Right. Totally fine." Another brief pause. "Do you want a beer?"

Amy shook her head, "No, I'm fine thanks." Ignoring the blonde's answer, or possibly just not hearing it, Lucy snatched two bottles from a passing waiter, and grabbed the blonde's hand. "C'mon lets go find a seat somewhere." Leading the blonde by the hand she once again began to weave her way through the throng of people. Spotting a fairly secluded table she went to stand beside it and gave the occupants a pointed look. It only took them a few seconds to recognize her and they quickly scurried away. Lucy smirked to herself, she may have been gone for a few years, but apparently her reputation was intact.

Taking her seat she placed one of the bottles in front of Amy before taking a pull from her own beer. Another few moments of awkward silence passed before Amy ran her hands through her hair and leaned forward. "Okay…why is this so awkward? This does seem awkward, right? I mean a few hours ago we were fine, more than fine," Amy flushed slightly as her mind wandered back, "and now we can barely string two words together."

Lucy took another sip of her beer to delay answering. "I'm not sure," she finally answered. _Which is a lie, it's because Scud has infected me with his paranoia about your motives_. "I guess I just have a lot on my mind with the upcoming race, you know? It's just there's a lot riding on this and a lot of the families are looking pretty solid this year. Not that I'm worried or anything! But a race of this caliber is always a tense time, with the training and preparing of the vehicles. I guess it makes me a little reserved. Sorry." Lucy said with an apologetic shrug.

Amy nodded her head in understanding. "Well it sucks," she pouted slightly. "I get that this is a big deal for you and I want you to be focused and I want you to win if it means that much to you, but I can't help but be a little selfish about the whole thing. I want to be the one lavished with that amount of attention and was kind of hoping we could maybe pick up where we left off earlier," she replied suggestively as she reached over and ran her hand along the hand Lucy had wrapped around her bottle.

Lucy smirked and removed her hand from the bottle to intertwine it with Amy's. The girl might be stringing her along, but it was bound to still be a pleasurable ride. "Well that can certainly be arranged, but I didn't peg you for the exhibitionist type," Lucy teased.

Amy bit her lip and looked around. "Right. Guess we will have to table that for now. Maybe later?" She asked somewhat shyly, not wanting to sound too desirous, but from the smirk on Lucy's face she knew that's exactly how she sounded.

"Maybe," Lucy responded teasingly and with a wink. "But I promise, once all this is over…I'll make it up to you."

Amy smiled and felt herself blushing once again as she reluctantly pulled her hand out of Lucy's, grabbing the beer she hadn't wanted. She absently picked at the label before bringing it to her lips to take a much needed drink. Maybe alcohol would help get past the still lingering awkwardness.

"So, what makes this race in Vegas that big of a spectacle?" Amy finally spoke, relying on shop talk to keep the conversation moving when all she wanted to do was find something else for them to do with their mouths. Something that definitely didn't involve talking.

Lucy nodded her head. "It's like the championship series of the underground racing circuit. Fast cars, big money, bigger bragging rights." She looked around the crowded room. "It's actually one of the things I missed most while I was away."

"Oh so you used to compete?" Amy asked, glad that Lucy seemed to be getting more comfortable as the conversation progressed. It was surprising to Amy that a race of this caliber never brought any attention to the criminal world. If appearances in the room were anything to go by, it certainly brought out the guns.

"Of course," Lucy replied, as if that should never have been a question. "But it was only for a couple of years though, up until I left L.A. But even then, we never lost, and how could we when I was the best," the brunette finished matter-of-factly.

Amy smiled at the cocky brunette. "I think you're almost as bad as Max," she teased, loving the confidence the brunette had in her abilities.

"So are you going to race this year as well?" Amy hadn't seen Lucy do any racing since she had been back, but something this big would surely draw the crime bosses attention.

Lucy shook her head. "I don't think so. I have too much going on right now to devote any considerable amount of time to training." And it was true, being back and throwing herself into her work didn't afford Lucy with nearly as much time as she would've liked on the streets. She had an organization to run and a killer to track down, both in which she knew would prove to be self-sacrificing and just all around hard work.

"I was thinking about having Max take over for me in the final race. She's already taken the Schaffer's for five million. A small amount overall, but significant to lose in a race so hopefully she can take them down another notch; they've been top dog for way too long. Riley always did think she was a better driver than me."

Despite the fact that Amy was indeed still her intended target, Lucy had found a use for her menacing partner as well. Even though she had no doubt that her crew was more than capable of winning this race for her, with Dominique being the second best driver in Pink Thunder and ultimately would've been her first choice, other than herself to take the last leg of the race, she wanted to better position her people within the main focus of the organization.

Plus, Dom being her close friend and confidant, she wouldn't think of putting her behind a wheel in a race that brought out so many rivalries when there was so much bad blood still lingering around and with her father's car bomber still on the loose. Max albeit an excellent driver, she was expendable and Lucy definitely wouldn't lose any sleep if something tragic was to happen to the agent during one of the races. Over her car maybe, but Max? Definitely not.

Amy frowned slightly at the longing she could hear in Lucy's voice. It was clear that the race meant quite a bit to her, but she wasn't sure if the tone was from the fact that Lucy couldn't race or if she was reliving some competitive driving love affair with her ex. "Well I'm sure if you entrust it to Max, she won't let you down."

Lucy smiled slightly. "Well let's hope not. My crew does have a reputation to protect."

"That girl doesn't know how to lose," Amy reassured her. "Plus, she'll be pleased that you asked."

Lucy only nodded as she took a sip of her beer before placing it back on the table. Her eyes flicked to the low cut, sleeveless top Amy was wearing. Clearly the girl was once again without a bra and Lucy's mind instantly flashed to earlier when she had briefly held the blonde's soft mound in her hand. Just thinking about it put Lucy in a heightened state of arousal.

"I love what you're wearing," Lucy said, a sudden change in the conversation as her voice dripped with the undertone of wanting nothing more than getting the blonde out of said clothing.

"I thought you might." Amy grinned as she licked her lips, wetting them, the action clearly showing she'd definitely let her.

* * *

Scud made his way towards the bar reluctantly, convinced that he must have done something to piss Lucy off. Okay, so maybe he had been a little overt in his displeasure over her choice to continue to pursue the blonde agent, but sending him off on a wild goose chase hardly seemed fair. It was hard enough to keep tabs on her in this crowd, and she had just made that effectively impossible. Luckily he had more eyes on Lucy as she gallivanted around, so if he couldn't play watchdog for a few minutes, it shouldn't be the end of the world.

He scrutinized the girl's appearance as he approached the bar. She really stood out like a sore thumb in her short, capped sleeve, shirt with cardigan wrap. Her make-up was minimal at best, setting her apart from the typical girls that frequented these events. There was no denying that even as out of place as she was, that she was beautiful, in a freshly scrubbed, girl next door way. He shook his head at the thought; he was definitely not looking to hook up.

"Come here often?" Scud asked as he took up a stance next to the brunette who was currently sitting at the bar alone, then immediately chastised himself for saying something that sounded too much like a pick up line.

Janet nervously jumped at the sudden appearance of someone standing beside her and actually engaging in conversation. This was so exciting! "Oh! No, I'm new and have only been here a couple weeks. My friends brought me here to show me around," Janet answered careful to quote verbatim what Max had said her cover would be if asked.

"Oh, well that was nice of them," Scud responded lamely. "It can be hard to meet new people when you first get to a new place." God he hated small talk.

Janet nodded her head knowingly. "Oh I know! It's just the worst." Janet looked at her companion, and couldn't help but think that he looked familiar for some reason. After a few seconds her mouth dropped open as she recognized him as Sacripant "Scud" Telford, Lucy's right hand man. Oh my god!

"Mmmm," Scud agreed noncommittally. "So uh…where are your friends?" Scud couldn't imagine anyone leaving this girl alone with this crowd. She looked to have the survival instincts of a newborn kitten.

Janet looked around. "Oh, they had things to take care of."

Scud frowned involuntarily, not liking the idea of someone abandoning this girl to the mercy of the criminal underbelly. "That wasn't all that nice of them."

Janet smiled self-deprecatingly. "Oh it's okay, I'm used to it." Janet leaned in closer to Scud, as though about to share something in confidence. "I don't think they like me all that much."

"What makes you say that?"

"Oh little things mostly; telling me to shut up, asking me to leave, threatening to kill me and leave no trace."

Scud frowned again. "I don't mean to be rude, but these friends of yours don't sound all that great."

"Well they aren't really friends, more work associates and it's really only one of them that seems to think I can't do anything right." Janet confided.

Scud looked at the girl more closely, trying to see if he had overlooked something obvious. Lucy had been suspicious of the girl, and rightfully so, she looked as out of place as a Tellulah beside Lucy's overpriced and engineered stable of exotic imports. The only people that came to events like this were either involved in the underground racing world or a crime organization, and he just couldn't see her belonging to either.

"Do you race?" Scud asked finally settling on a generic question. Although the girl definitely didn't seem like the type, he figured it didn't seem so out of place at a racing event.

"Me? Oh no. I prefer a much safer speed when driving. Traveling at seventy miles per hour into a turn and ruining the tread on my tires has no appeal to me. I simply can't handle the suspense and my poor Beetle couldn't handle it either."

Scud couldn't help the smile that broke out over the brunette's choice of vehicles. A Volkswagen. Albeit a more upgraded one, perhaps Tellulah had found a mate. "So what is it you do?"

"Oh, at the moment I am a waitress, but I am hoping to move into, um…more challenging work soon. I just have to prove myself capable first."

"So what is it your "associates" do?" Scud asked, curious to know what a trio of waitresses was doing at a high-profiled underground event like this. Sure, the racing circuit brought out all sorts of characters. It was a chance for the ordinary to become the extraordinary when behind the wheel and then go back to their mundane lives at the beginning of the next grueling workday.

Janet hesitated, not sure how much she was supposed to reveal about Amy and Max. "Oh, umm…pretty much the same thing. Only they've been at it a bit longer so they get to…expand their talents outside of waitressing though," Janet answered vaguely.

Scud frowned, not really buying the answer the girl was giving him. Seriously, what other talent could you have above being a waitress…a hostess? Before he could question the brunette further she continued speaking.

"But if they would just give me a chance to prove myself, I know that I can be just as good of a…waitress, as either one of them. But do they? No. They just keep focusing the few minor hiccups I have had in the past. Okay so maybe I had a bit too much to drink on duty once, and I might have almost served a patron something that he was allergic too. But it's not like anyone died. Do they let that go however? No," Janet answered her own question grumpily. "And sometimes I may forget where I've put my equipment, but that's only because it's always so much to keep up with." She threw her hands up in a dramatic gesture before folding her arms across her chest.

Scud couldn't help the lazily grin that spread across his face as he watched the adorable pout forming on the girls pink lips as she rambled. He shook his head. Wait. Adorable? "Oh well that sucks," he responded, desperate to say something and not just continue to sit there and stare at her creepily. Even though his senses were screaming that something was a bit off, he couldn't help but think that her gripes were too much like his own to be made up. Surely someone out there had to know what it was like to be him and it seemed that the discarded brunette did.

"It does. I do so much for them, but do they appreciate my attention to detail, my tireless efforts to make our work place more pleasant? No."

Scud nodded his head in commiseration. "I can relate. My friend and sister, all I want is to keep them safe, but all they do is nag and make fun of my efforts. 'Scud you need to loosen up', 'Scud you need to get out more', 'Scud you need to get the stick out of your ass', 'Scud you need to get laid'." When Janet blushed and giggled softly Scud realized that he had let his irritation with Lucy and Dom get the better of him, and that he might have just over shared a bit.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away." Scud apologized, flushing slightly but then his eyes widened at his last revelation. "Not that I uh, have any problem with that last one or anything. I'm just very particular about the company I keep. Plus, I've been very busy," he tried to explain before he realized he was rambling and then snapped his mouth shut.

Janet smiled and waved off the apology. "It's okay, trust me I understand and I know exactly where you're coming from. You have to be careful who you pick up these days." Looking down at the bar nervously Janet looked back up, meeting Scud's gaze. "Can I get you a drink?"

Endeared that a girl would actually offer to get him a drink for a change instead of the other way around, remembering his last encounter with alcohol, Scud regretted that he had to decline. "No thanks, I don't really drink."

"Oh me either," she held up the glass she held in her hand, "this is a Shirley Temple."

Scud looked at the girl in disbelief. There was no way that someone that ordered a Shirley Temple was a threat. "Maybe one of what you're having?"

Janet smiled happily. "Coming right up." She motioned for the bar tender and quickly retrieved Scud's drink. Handing it to him, she suddenly seemed to realize that she hadn't introduced herself. "Oh! How rude of me, I'm Janet."

Scud took her hand in his and smiled in return. "Scud."

* * *

Removed from the chaos of the ground floor, Riley stood watching through the second floor bay window with an ever growing annoyance as Lucy and Amy seemingly ignored the world around them. Riley had been less then pleased when she had seen Lucy lead the girl through the crowd. Although the outcome wasn't what she expected, she was certain that her intentions were well laid out for Lucy after their time together in her office and that the blonde would be a thing of the past.

Clearly she had been mistaken.

Drumming her fingers absently on the window sill, she continued to take in the scene below. If other encounters she'd been witness to were anything to go by, when she had first spotted them they had seemed almost uncomfortable with each other, but since moving off to the privacy of the table, things were definitely warming up. This just wouldn't do.

Quite frankly Riley couldn't figure it out. While she could concede, in a completely objective sense, that the blonde was attractive, the fact that Lucy was willing to throw her over for that bimbo just made no sense. She and Lucy had history, they had common goals, and they had scorching chemistry.

Frank had proved to be an utter disappointment on the information front. He had been able to uncover virtually nothing suspicious about the blonde, forcing her to contemplate a somewhat less than ideal Plan B. Resigning herself to the inevitable, she snapped her fingers.

"Beefstick," she called impatiently. "Get over here."

From the corner of the room Bobby cleared his throat and made his way toward her. "Um…It's Bobby ma'am."

Riley rolled her eyes; as if his name mattered. "Whatever. And do I look like your mother?" She snapped.

Bobby couldn't help but let his eyes roam over the brunette's stunning figure. She indeed did not look anything like his mother. Or anyone's mother in fact.

Riley snapped her finger again, this time in front of Bobby appreciative stare. "Just call me Riley, okay?"

"Yes ma'am…sorry, I mean Riley," Bobby offered as he finally tore his gaze away from Riley's body and actually looked her in the eyes.

Riley only rolled her eyes again and turned her attention back to the unpleasant scene below. "So you and Alice are dating, right?"

Bobby blinked in confusion before his expression cleared. "Oh you mean Amy?"

_Again with the names._ "Yeah, her." Riley pointed toward the couple, focusing Bobby's attention on them. "If she's dating you would you care to explain why she appears to be flirting with Lucy?" Riley looked at him out of the corner of her eye, and saw when the big oaf's face fell, before he quickly blanked his expression.

"Oh she's not flirting, Amy is a one guy kinda chick, she's just really dedicated to her job," he reasoned lamely. "I'm sure they're just talking shop."

"Oh I'm sure that's it," she replied condescendingly. Riley shook her head at the idiot's obtuseness. He really did grate on her last nerve, and if it wasn't for the fact that she had virtually no information on the little blonde tart that had caught her girl's eye, she wouldn't have to put up with him. He was pretty much her main link to driving a wedge between the two. "Well I have an important meeting to start. Why don't you accompany me to the floor so I can gather some of my associates," Riley said with a sweet smile, her prominent dimples coming out to play as she linked her arm through Bobby's outstretched one and allowed him to lead her out of the room.

* * *

Amy laughed and took another drink from her beer, now half gone. She was relieved that after the initial awkwardness the evening seemed to be turning around. Perhaps her earlier concerns had been unfounded, and Lucy's distance was just as she'd explained, nerves from the impending race.

"You two are having a good time I trust." Amy swung her head to the side at the intrusion of the familiar, and completely unwelcome, voice. Running her gaze quickly up and down the tone form of the other brunette, Amy had to grudgingly admit to seeing what Lucy probably once saw, and probably still did see in the girl. She was strikingly beautiful with long wavy brunette hair and every time she spoke you could see just a hint of those heart stopping dimples that made a full blown appearance every time she laughed or smile. Simply put, she was hot.

Given different circumstances, like if she hadn't had her heart set on another breathtakingly beautiful brunette, and if Riley wasn't so utterly rude and such a bitch, Amy couldn't deny that she definitely would be attracted to her rival.

Lucy hastily finished her mouthful of beer. "We were," she answered rather shortly. Amy was relieved to see that Lucy was no longer fawning over her ex; maybe she really had resolved to put their past behind her. Or then again, maybe it was those pre-race planning jitters again. "Something we can do for you?"

Riley let a small smile grace her features. "I just wanted to grab you when I had the chance, and let you know that the meeting should be starting shortly." Lucy nodded her head in understanding. "Oh and Bobby kept going on and on about you taking up so much of his girl's time so he wanted to take her off your hands. Talking shop, was it Bobby?" Riley spared a glance behind her.

At the mention of her ex's name, Amy craned her neck and finally noticed the sandy haired man standing behind Riley. She barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes when he smiled stupidly and waved.

"Hey babe."

Riley, still continuing her tradition of ignoring the blonde, had eyes only for Lucy. "C'mon Lucy," Riley extended her hand to her former lover, "Let's go discuss our business matters and leave these two young lovers to their own devices. No need to bore her to death with business all night." For the first time Riley directed her attention towards Amy, a self-satisfied smirk crossing her lips.

"Thanks Riley." Bobby said as he walked over and pulled a chair from another table, scraping it loudly against the floor as he placed it beside Amy and took a seat close to the dumbfound blonde. "She does work too hard. I keep telling her we're going to have gorgeous kids one day, with those beautiful blue eyes or hers and my handsome good looks, but she needs to learn to work a little less if we are ever going to get started," Bobby stated with an air of confidence and a wide sparkling grin.

Lucy looked to Amy in confusion. The blonde had insisted that she and the poster boy were a thing of the past, yet he was practically naming their 2.5 kids and Amy wasn't readily denying anything. Lucy felt disgust along with the sudden urge to punch Bobby's face again.

Amy finally shook off her shock at seeing Bobby still in Riley's corner, and the realization of what the two were going on about as she took in the look on Lucy's face. She shook her head, ready to dispute what Riley and Bobby were saying when she was hastily cut off.

"Well, we'll leave the two of you to discuss those minor details. Maybe if you leave early enough tonight, you can get a jump start on Beefstick Jr." Riley snickered as she continued to add fuel to the fire. "Lucy?"

Lucy quickly snapped her head in Riley's direction. "What?"

"You ready baby?" Riley asked sweetly while wriggling the fingers on her still extended hand.

Amy opened her mouth in protest, to insist, once again, that she and Bobby were well over and to make her displeasure of Riley using such an intimate term of endearment when referring to Lucy.

Unfortunately, before she could get a sound out, much to her disbelief, Lucy was nodding her head as she took Riley's hand and stood up from the table. To Amy's growing irritation Bobby wasted no time in filing in closer to her as he threw an arm around the back of her chair, grinning like a love sick buffoon. God what had she ever seen in him.

"Lucy!" Amy called out, finally finding her voice when the brunette looked as though she was going to disappear without another word. She saw other woman's shoulders tense when her name was called out, and she almost thought the crime boss was going to pretend she hadn't heard her, but finally she turned around, looking at her questioningly. "Did you want to meet up later?" Amy wanted there to be little doubt that she expected to finish the evening with the brunette. Max's admonitions be damned, there was no way she was letting Riley Schaffer sink her claws back into Lucy without putting up a fight.

Lucy shook her head, "No, there's really no need."

"Are you sure?" Amy questioned with a crestfallen look.

Although extremely dissatisfied with the blonde and her over all predicament, Lucy still had no desire to intentionally hurt her so she sought an explanation. ""It's just that I don't know how long this will take so you should just enjoy the party." With that said, Lucy gave in to the insistent tugging she felt on her arm.

Amy sat in disbelief as she watched the pair walking away, hand in hand. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vice and she felt sick to her stomach, but more than anything she was extremely pissed off. Taking a quick look around, to ensure that there were no people standing close by to witness or hear her tirade, Amy turned her full attention to Bobby and hissed, "What in the hell are you doing here?"

Bobby smirked confidently. "I told you babe, Riley hired me on as her driver."

"Don't call me babe," Amy sniped sharply. "I thought for sure that Riley would have fired you after you lost to Max and nearly destroyed her car."

The smile on Bobby's face fell slightly. "That was not my fault and she understood that, besides you fixed the car so it was all good. Plus, Max was being a total bitch."

Amy bristled at the insult to her partner. "Max was doing her job, just because you can't beat her doesn't make her a bitch." Amy continued to glare at the man across the table. "And why does Riley seem to think we were still dating and apparently planning to have _children_?"

The smirk was back in full effect. "C'mon Amy, just because we got into a little fight doesn't mean things are over between us."

Amy's eyes widened in disbelief, surely he must be kidding. "A little fight? Bobby we broke up… like three years ago! You really need to let it go."

"Three years? What about last year when we…you know," Bobby wiggled his brows suggestively.

Amy closed her eyes and scoffed as she held up a halting hand to keep Bobby from continuing. That was definitely something she never wanted to think or talk about again. She exhaled deeply before opening her eyes again. "I had been drinking and going through a rough time then, you know how hard the anniversaries hit me every year. What happened was a mistake and it will _never_ happen again."

"Aw babe...I know you don't mean that." Bobby brought her arm down and placed it on Amy's shoulder.

Amy rolled her eyes at the man-boys continued inability to grasp the situation. "Trust me when I say that I do, and stop calling me babe! And you really need to stop telling people that we are dating, it's doing nothing but causing problems for me where Lucy is concerned."

At the mention of the criminal mastermind's name his face darkened with anger. "What the hell does she have to do with this?" While Bobby might like to pretend he had no clue, the anger and disgust in his tone told another story entirely. "I don't see why your personal life is any of her business."

"And I don't see why it's any of yours," Amy replied hotly, only belatedly realizing that she had implied that Lucy was part of her personal life. Luckily Bobby didn't pick up on it or the conversation would've continued on into territory she really didn't want to discuss with him. Releasing a frustrated breath, Amy sighed, "Bobby, please just go away."

Bobby shook his head. "No can do. Your partner seems to have left you all alone in enemy territory."

Amy rolled her eyes at the oaf. "I can take care of myself, Bobby." A thought suddenly occurred to her. "Where is _your_ partner anyway?"

Bobby looked around briefly, apparently scanning the crowd. "He's around, but since I got in with the Schaffer's he's had to lay low a bit, seems Riley only had room for one, but he's a man, he can take care of himself. So don't worry, babe, I got your back."

"I don't need you to have my back Bobby; I'm very capable of handling anything that may go down here. Besides, Max didn't leave me completely alone," Amy said, standing suddenly, very relieved when she spotted Janet still sitting at the bar talking to Scud.

Bobby followed her line of sight. "Janet? What's she doing here?"

"She was invited," Amy told him as she hastily made her way over to her friend.

Bobby quickly stood, undeterred by Amy's sudden departure and fell in step behind her. "Invited?" He laughed as he grabbed Amy's elbow to pull her back slightly as he spoke in her ear. "Don't tell me she's working for Lucy as well."

Amy pulled her arm out of his grasped and turned slightly. "No you idiot. She's just here watching our backs."

Bobby laughed again. "Well that's too bad. I know I could've beaten her in a race."

Amy only rolled her eyes as she continued to make her way through the crowd. Getting closer to the pair at the bar she noticed how relaxed Scud had gotten as his arm was casually thrown across the bar behind Janet, the usually ever present frown on his face upturned in a genuine smile.

Janet's face lit up even more and she waved as she saw Amy approaching. Scud looked in the direction of where her attention was focused and a look of alarm passed over his face as he sat up abruptly and look back and forth between the two girls.

Suddenly the missing piece of the puzzle slipped into place. Lucy had come to him to ask questions of this girl out of the blue, a girl that clearly wasn't a part of the underground racing circuit. His mind raced as he finally connected the dots, and he suddenly remembered a conversation from earlier. Lucy. Son of a bitch. This must be the "friend" she had wanted him to meet. "You two know each other?" he asked slightly panicked.

"Who, Amy?" Scud nodded. "Yes. She's one of the friends I was talking about. Oh and look, there's Bobby!"

"Bobby?" Scud scowled as he noticed the brute of a man following closely behind Amy. He also noticed that it was the same man that Lucy had punched weeks ago at the hangar race, now he understood why.

"Yeah, Amy's boyfriend," Janet offered.

"Really?" Scud questioned, slightly vindicated that he had been right about the blonde all along.

"Well," Janet looked thoughtful as confusion set in, "they use to…or they might still be." Janet waved a dismissive hand, "Oh you never can tell with those two. They've been on and off for years. I say they should go ahead and make it official already. Bobby's so sweet and he really loves Amy." Janet smiled at the approaching pair and then turned back to Scud. "Oh! If you like the all brawns and no brains type, that is," Janet corrected upon noticing Scud's disapproving glare. "Which I totally don't."

"Hey you two." Amy greeted as she made her way up and stopped in front of them.

"Hey Amy," Janet replied in her usual cheery manner.

"And let me guess…Max is your other friend?" He asked rhetorically as the implication of what the three girls could possibly have in common finally set in. Lucy had purposely sent him after a D.E.B., he was going to kill her.

"That is correct. Hi Bobby!" Janet greeted.

"Hey Janet. I didn't know you would be here."

"I know, me either! Isn't it great!" The young brunette beamed.

"Who's your friend?" Bobby asked, although he was more than aware of who Scud was.

"Oh this is my new friend Scud," Janet beamed as she looked over to Scud, "Scud, I think you may already know Amy…,"

"Yeah we've met," Scud interrupted.

"…and this is her boyfriend, Bobby." Janet finished.

Bobby stuck out his hand to Scud, offering a handshake, but Scud only looked down at the man's hand and then back up to him indifferently causing Bobby to pull his hand back.

"He is not my boyfriend," Amy said through gritted teeth, as she spared a glance at Scud, then turned and glared at Janet.

"See I told you they were iffy," Janet mumbled leaning towards Scud.

"We aren't _iffy_," Amy rejoined irritably, "we're _over."_

"Well I don't see why. I mean you and Bobby always made such a cute…"

"Janet!" Amy cut her off mid-stream.

"Okay," Janet held up her hands defensively, but let the subject drop. They totally made a cute couple though. "Where's Lucy?"

Amy crossed her arms across her chest. "Meeting," she answered shortly.

Scud concealed a smirk at the blonde's disgruntled response. If her reaction was anything to go by she was less then pleased about being abandoned. Too bad Lucy wouldn't wise up and drop the D.E.B. for good.

"At a party?" Janet asked, her nose wrinkling in distaste.

"Yes Janet," Amy answered. "It's what she came here for."

"Oh I don't know…they can always discuss business without all the noise and flash. I just think they do it to show off." Bobby said with a shrug.

"To show off what?" Janet asked, thoroughly confused.

"Their fast cars and their big money of course. And it doesn't hurt that it helps them get plenty of action." Bobby stated confidently with a knowing grin. "Although it seems Riley is more interested in Lucy Diamond, and she seems really fixated on who she's dating." As if a light bulb had suddenly gone off Bobby asked to the no one in particular. "Do you think they…like…you know?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively while sending Scud a somewhat smarmy smirk.

Amy rolled her eyes and turned to her ex in irritation. "Really Bobby?"

"What!" He cried defensively. "I told you, that whole lezzie thing is kinda hot. Right man?" He looked to Scud for back-up.

Scud shook his head. If this was the best that the federal government had to offer maybe Dom and Lucy were right; he should relax more because the chances of this idiot taking them down were about zero.

"Lucy is like a sister to me. I would really rather not think or talk about her sex life," Scud told the cocksure agent. Amy nodded in agreement. She didn't want to think about Lucy having sex either, at least not with Riley Schaffer or anyone else for that matter.

"But trust me; I've known Lucy long enough to know she doesn't need to parade herself around at racing events to 'hook up'. She's very capable in that regard and is never in short supply of companionship." Scud made a point to look at Amy when he said this.

Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, Amy glanced down at her wrist, an ingrained habit, but in this case an empty gesture since she wasn't wearing her standard issue watch, it had clashed with her outfit. "So, how long do you think this meeting will take?" She asked Scud.

Seeing his chance for escape, and not really wanting to spend any more time surrounded by government agents, even cute, beguiling ones, Scud placed his drink on the bar and excused himself. "You know, I'm not sure, but it's lasted longer than anticipated so I should probably go check to see what's keeping them." Scud turned to look at the newly discovered D.E.B. with a tight smile and a curt nod before backing away. Of all the girls in the entire world, the one he actually connected with had to be a D.E.B. Go figure.

Janet opened her mouth to protest, but before she could Scud had already faded off into the crowd.

* * *

Lucy sat through the meeting, her mind wandering as she half listened to the terms and agreements being laid out and discussed for the race. It was nothing she didn't already know, the rules had never changed. The first of them being, there were no rules. The race was still the same and she had every confidence that her team would come out on top.

However, that was not what was occupying the criminal mastermind's thoughts right now. Most of her attention was instead focused on Amy and the dim-witted DHS agent. Before the meeting had started, she had watched from the same window Riley had observed her from as Bobby moved in closer to Amy and thrown his arm around her. The fact that the blonde gave no protest to this action, only served to fuel her rage.

Amy had lied to her. She'd made her believe that things were over between her and the DHS agent. However, from their previous conversation it seemed that the pair was more than an item. Hell, there was talk of having kids!

The lie was bad enough, but Lucy wasn't entirely naïve. No, what was worse was the blatant show of disrespect. It was one thing for _her_ to know that Amy might be faking her interest. But for the blonde to so publically allow the sandy haired man to paw at her when she was supposed to be with her was unacceptable.

"Do you have anything else to add, Lucy?" Riley's voice tore Lucy away from her unpleasant thoughts as she looked to her ex-lover, who had perched herself on the arm of the chair Lucy was occupying.

"No…no, I think that should be it. Unless of course someone else has something." Lucy looked around the room at the faces of her rivals and saw them all shake their heads in the negative. Even though this was Riley's event, Riley didn't mind sharing the spotlight with her ex. It was good that the other families start to see them as a team; it was something she was looking to rectify soon and bring her and Lucy back together as they should be. "Okay, then…I guess we're done."

At that, everyone stood up and began chattering idly as they began filing out of the room. Lucy went to stand, but was met with some resistance as Riley placed a hand on her shoulder, signaling for her to stay put.

"Lucy," Angelo Faustino headed towards the seated brunette. Other than the business briefings she received on her holdings, Lucy hadn't made or received any contact with the man since he had approached her a few weeks ago. As long as there was a profit in their partnership, she saw no reason to interfere.

"Angelo," Lucy said with a nod in way of greeting. Although he had no stake in the upcoming race except for a healthy fee paid in equal portions by all competing families, he still played an important part in the event. Seeing as the race was being held in his territory, thanks in part to the Reynolds organization, he was in charge of making sure things ran smoothly.

Not only was he responsible for general security, he also had to ensure with certainty that the local authorities would not be an issue. Usually the boys in blue cooperated, for a fee, with the criminal's main event, some even attending and placing small wagers themselves. However, you could never be too sure with cops; after all a wolf in sheep's clothing was still a wolf. Lucy could certainly attest to that with her weighing dilemma with the D.E.B.

"I just want to thank you once again for your assistance, and let you know that your personal request will be taken care of. If you need anything else…" he was abruptly cut off as Lucy held up her hand.

"Just make sure the top two floors of the hotel are shut down for me and my crew. I don't want any civilians around and make sure you have extra staff on hand to service only us as needed, this means in the casino as well. I want the wait time to be minimal for anything we may need. Scud will contact you about security, so you make sure your guys are fully cooperative and don't give him any shit. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Angelo said with a nod and then made his way out, leaving the room empty except for Lucy and Riley.

"You know," Riley purred as she slowly slid from the arm of the chair and directly into Lucy's lap to straddle her, causing Lucy's hands to automatically move to her waist, "you're incredibly sexy when you're giving orders. I always knew you'd be a strong leader." One of Riley's hands slowly threaded through Lucy's dark hair while she brought the other up to softly caressed her bare shoulder before sliding it to the nape of Lucy's neck.

Lucy sighed softly as her lust quickly outweighed her self-control and gave no protest when she felt Riley's lips press gently against hers. She moaned lowly in her throat and tightened her grip on Riley's waist when she felt the other brunette's kiss grow bolder and a warm tongue brushed over her lips.

It wasn't until Riley spoke again that Lucy's lustful haze was shattered. "I want you," Riley whispered against Lucy's lips as her hands slid downward and into the skimpy top Lucy had on.

'I want you'

The words echoed in Lucy's mind. It was the same thing she had said to Amy no less than a few hours ago when she'd confessed that things were over between her and Riley. Even though she had all the evidence she needed that told her not only was Amy a government agent out to further her career, and she was also a liar that was two-timing her, with a guy no less, she couldn't help the sickening feeling that washed over her that she was doing something wrong. That this just didn't feel right.

Although her body was screaming at her to just let this happen, Lucy quickly latched onto Riley's wrist as her hand began caressing her breast under her top.

"Fuck," Lucy said in an exasperated breath as she closed her eyes and pulled Riley's hands away.

"So you keep asking," Riley chuckled as she tried to pull her hands away in attempt to get reacquainted with her ex's body. She leaned in and pressed another kiss against Lucy's lips, but was met with resistance this time.

It took Lucy several seconds and a few deep breaths before she replied. "I can't do this," she whispered as she shook her head slightly with her eyes were still closed.

Riley grinned as she finally was able to wrestle her hands away from Lucy's grip. "I get it, it's been a while since we've been together, but don't worry baby, I got this. You just sit back and let me take care of you like you know I can." Riley's hands went to the waist of Lucy's pants as she attempted to unbutton them.

Lucy once again grabbed onto Riley's wrist, opening her eyes this time to look intently at her ex-girlfriend. "No Riley, I can't do this…I won't do this."

"What's wrong?" Riley asked, a frown forming on her beautiful face.

"This…I…fuck," Lucy stumbled, desperately trying to verbalize just what the fuck was going on with her. She closed her eyes and instantly she saw Amy's blue eyes looking at her. She remembered how good it felt to touch the blonde, to feel her soft lips against hers. To just be around her. When she opened her eyes to see Riley's soulful brown eyes staring back at her, full of lust and full of want, she then knew.

Despite what she knew about blonde D.E.B., what she now felt when she looked into Riley's eyes was such a contrast to what she felt when she looked into Amy's. Lucy knew exactly why what was taking place with Riley didn't feel right. "This just doesn't feel right," Lucy told her as she released Riley's wrist and made a motion to get up.

"What do you mean it doesn't feel right?" Riley asked, her voice laced with disappointment.

"C'mon Riley, just please get off me," Lucy pleaded.

"No! Not until you tell me what your problem is." Riley's was on the verge of yelling now.

"I don't have a problem," Lucy told her, her voice rising slightly as well.

"Oh believe me you do," Riley scoffed. "It's like you're sitting here torturing yourself and for what, Lucy? Tell me why you're doing this. Why won't you just let you and I happen. I know you want me," Riley asserted boldly.

Lucy only rolled her eyes at the girl's confidence. Albeit true to an extent, Lucy definitely wouldn't have minded seeing how an eight year difference improved on what was a more than gratifying sex life with her hot, sexually enthused ex, she knew it would be wrong on so many different levels to just give into the lust that she was feeling.

"Is it because of her?" Riley asked, needing to know if the blonde hired hand was the reason Lucy was turning down her advances.

"Who?" Lucy asked, feigning ignorance.

"Oh you know who. That blonde bimbo you seemed to be joined at the hip with now every time I see you."

"Riley," Lucy warned, very much disliking the description she just gave of the blonde in question.

"Whatever Lucy. I know you dig her, and I can't blame you…she's easy on the eyes, but I'd hate to think you're throwing what we could have away over a chick that's not even putting out! I bet you haven't even gotten to second base!" Riley exclaimed as she finally removed herself from Lucy's lap.

Lucy stood abruptly, not wanting to give Riley the chance to pin her down again but mainly because of the outrage she felt in what Riley had just said. "You don't know anything about what's going on between Amy and I," Lucy hissed as she approached the smirking girl.

"Oh please, Lucy." Riley chuckled as she closed the space between her and Lucy, their bodies inches away from each other. She raised her hand to slowly trail a finger along the side of Lucy's neck. "You're wound so tight I could have you screaming my name within minutes. I wouldn't even have to go inside of you to make you come. Even though you know I love being inside of you and I know how much you love it as well," Riley stated with a sexy grin.

The look on Lucy's face was indignant at the truth in the accusation of her sexual state, and her body was more than a little turned on at the description Riley just provided. "You're such a bitch," Lucy supplied lamely as she hastily pushed passed Riley and made her way towards the door.

"Yeah and you're passing up a hot piece of ass!" Riley yelled after her, a little more than offended and annoyed about being turned down once again by Lucy. She pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest and stamped her feet. "Damnit Lucy. I will have you," Riley said into the empty room.

* * *

As Scud made his way towards the stairs, he noticed that all of the rival families had filtered out of the meeting. He began to slightly panic when he didn't immediately notice Lucy amongst them. This was why he didn't do any consorting period at these types of events. You could easily lose sight of your target which could prove to be a fatal mistake.

He brought his hand up to his ear and spoke, "Does anyone have a visual on Lucy?" A few tense moments later a series of 'negatives' sounded throughout his ear.

"I think the meeting is over though, I've seen several of bosses leave, but she hasn't come out yet." A voice radioed in.

"Okay, what about Dom?" He asked, trying not to sound panicked.

Immediately one of his henchman's voices sounded off. "Yeah boss, I have her here still out back, there appears to be some type of action out here though."

"What kind of action?" Scud frowned as he hastily made his way up the stairs. With Dom involved, it could really be anything and Scud feared the worst.

"I'm not sure, but it involves that little feisty new driver Lucy hired not long ago and they're drawing a crowd. I think they may be setting up a race or something. You know how Dom gets."

"Well I don't pay you to think you moron! Go see what's going on with my sister! Tim, Roger go with him," Scud yelled. "Big Mike, I need you up here on the stairs and Tony I need you positioned at the bottom of the staircase," Scud ordered. Neither man acknowledged him, but he knew they were all moving to their positions.

Scud shook his head as he neared the meeting room door. Everyone was really trying his patience lately. Seeing the door slightly ajar, he slowly stooped down, careful not to alarm any of the people in the warehouse and un-holstered the gun he had strapped to his leg. As he stood, he was startled by a noticeably aggravated Lucy making her way through the door. "Lucy!" He squeaked as he took a step back.

Lucy looked at the gun in his hand and frowned slightly. "Scud, what the hell are you doing? Are you trying to start a war?"

"I was coming to check on you!" he exclaimed as he bent to put his weapon away.

"Oh don't worry Sacripant, I didn't harm a hair on her pretty little head," Riley said as she sauntered past the two standing in the doorway and made her way down stairs.

Scud's eyes widened, and looked around clearly out of habit to make sure no one had heard Riley call him by his real name. It was one he'd rather forget, which is why he'd adopted the nickname Scud. Obviously being named after a Russian missile was much cooler. Seeing that the coast was clear, he shook his head and waved off his guy that was posted at the bottom of the stairs. "You were with her. I should've known."

"Yeah, so should I," Lucy mumbled as she watched Riley slowly descend the stairs with an extra sway in her hips and make her way into the crowd. "Where's Dom?" Lucy turned her attention back to her security expert.

"What's the status?" Scud demanded and listened for his answer. "She's out back; apparently she and Max are bonding. They're setting up a race."

"What?" Lucy's brows furrowed as she pushed past Scud and headed down the stairs. She specifically recalled telling Max she wasn't to race tonight. Apparently the surly D.E.B. needed a lesson in rank.

* * *

Amy watched as Scud made his way up the stairs stopping just shy of the door and reaching down for something. The familiar gleam of gun metal caught her attention and she immediately went on alert. She quickly looked around, scanning the area for exits and mentally taking note of how many yards it would take to reach the nearest one.

Janet and Bobby had noticed as she tensed and were immediately at her side trying to figure out what had caused the blonde's change in mood. Amy didn't know what was taking place, all she knew was that Scud would only take such a drastic measure if he thought Lucy was in trouble, and that's all that mattered to her as she took off in the direction of Lucy's right hand man.

Amy started to move in Scud's direction to offer whatever assistance she could, so she saw with some relief as Lucy exited the door, apparently unharmed, but looking slightly disheveled. It wasn't until she saw Riley emerge a few seconds later did she stop dead in her tracks. For the second time that night, Amy felt the vice like grip on her heart. She'd trusted Lucy when she revealed to her hours earlier that it was her that she wanted. However, the criminal's hot and cold attitude since she'd arrived had Amy thinking differently.

"Something wrong babe?" Bobby asked, genuinely concerned as he placed a hand on the small of her back. Amy moved away from the large hand that held her, his hand was hard and calloused and nothing about his touch comforted her. She quickly tore off in the direction of the door she had seen Lucy and Scud disappear through.

Scud's henchman roughly pushed their way through the small crowd, making a way for their commander. "What the hell is going on?" Lucy asked as she approached a grinning Dominique and a scowling Max.

"I'm about to show this dickhead that muscle beats import any day." Max taunted.

"I thought I made it clear you were not to race tonight," Lucy stated sharply as she turned her attention to Max.

"Excuse me?" Max crossed her arms across her chest, and turned to face the irritated crime boss, the challenge in her stance and tone easy to read.

"You heard me, Brewer. I didn't authorize this. You are not racing tonight." Lucy commanded as she stepped towards the defiant D.E.B. A series of boo's and 'ah c'mons' were heard amongst the crowd. Apparently everyone was ready to see the undefeated newcomer take on another foe. "Get rid of these fucking people," Lucy commanded as she looked back to Scud.

"You heard her boys!" He barked. Lucy's men immediately began shoving people back and away. More jeering was heard, and more than a few taunted the men but no one stupidly tried to take on one of the Reynolds's henchman.

As the crowd dispersed, only the guy that Max was supposed to race lingered around hoping he would be able to prove he was a better driver, while Lucy and Max seemed to be locked in a staring contest. Dom only leaned against a nearby car with her arms folded with her usual amused look firmly in place as she took in the silent battle. As the crowd thinned more, Scud went over and took up a stance by his sister.

"You knew about this didn't you?" He asked as he glared at her.

"About what?" Dominique briefly turned her head to glance at him, but was more interested in the combative brunettes.

"The girl!" He exclaimed.

"What fucking girl?" Dom asked annoyed.

"The girl Lucy _invited _here tonight just for me."

Dom chuckled, finally understanding what her uptight brother was going on about. "So I take it you know then."

"Know what? That she's…," Scud looked around to make sure he wouldn't be overheard, "that she's a damn D.E.B." he said in a harsh whisper.

"I didn't know, at least not long before we got here." Scud looked at her skeptically. "What? I swear I didn't know about it until earlier. You know I'd happily take credit for something that would ruffle your feathers as much as I know this does. Besides, you had a good time, right?"

"Of course not! She's a D.E.B. I'm naturally immune from having a good time with the enemy. I'll leave that up to Lucy," Scud shot back.

"Oh whatever Scud. I haven't been out here all night. I saw you with her and I know you were having a good time. For fuck sakes you even had a drink and were even smiling."

"She wanted to get me a drink. I was being polite!" Scud reasoned, but careful not to divulge to his sister that the drink he'd consumed was free of alcohol. It was just something else she'd give him shit about and right now he wanted to be the one doing the shit giving. "You should've told me. For all I know she could've been secretly pumping me for information, damnit."

Dominique rolled her eyes at her brother's overreaction. "Please, you need someone to pump you because you're seriously getting on my damn nerves. You had fun Scud, big fucking deal. And you probably actually like the girl considering you didn't excuse yourself immediately like you usually do. It's a perfectly normal reaction for a hot blooded young man like yourself to have. So stop sweating it." She finished with a nonchalant shrug.

Scud went to argue further but quickly straightened and snapped his mouth shut as he saw the agents he'd previously had the misfortune of spending a few minutes with arriving to see what the commotion was. The perky brunette exclude of course, she was actually the highlight of his night.

"What's going on?" Amy asked as she stood off to the side of the seething brunettes. Neither of them said a word, nor did they acknowledge that Amy was there causing the blonde to roll her eyes.

"Pretty boy over there seems to think his Lancer can beat Max's Shelby," Dominique finally spoke up from her position on the vehicle, causing everyone to turn in the direction of the guy she was referring too.

Amy rolled her eyes. "And let me guess…muscle beats import any day?"

Dom laughed and nodded her head. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

Amy let out a long suffering sigh. "We've been over this conversation a time or two before." Turning her attention to the man that had pushed Max's button. "Jeremy, what do you think you're doing?" Amy asked, clearly upset that he would provoke Max in such a way when he knew they were undercover.

That got Lucy's attention. "You know this guy?" She finally turned her glare from Max to look at the blonde. Her blood began to boil even more when she saw the male agent standing next to her.

"Yeah, Bobby's wingman over there was talking shit about how the race me and Amy won weeks ago was a fluke. Apparently he wasn't satisfied the first time his ass was handed to him, so I was going to be nice about it and give him a repeat," Max chided.

Lucy finally dragged her eyes away from the blonde and fixed them on the darker D.E.B. She was beyond pissed. Since she'd left Amy earlier that day, the rest of it had been nothing short of a disaster. It had started with Scud's news on Amy, then the slap in the face from the fact that Amy was still very much seeing the fawning DHS agent, not to mention Riley's mind fuck merely seconds ago. Yep. To say Lucy was pissed was an understatement. She was absolutely livid.

"I don't care how much goading this asshole does. You're. Not. Racing." Lucy took another step into Max's personal space. "If you decide to try me? You're out. And I don't just mean out of my crew, I mean you're done on the racing circuit…permanently. You'll never get another race on this side of the globe again." With that said, Lucy stormed off.

"Who the hell does she think she is," Max bristled as she gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes at Lucy's retreating form. It had taken all of her training and self-control not to throw down with the pushy crime boss. Luckily her training had held and she had managed to keep from blowing their cover wide open. Her anger still needed a vent however. "What the fuck did you do Bradshaw?" Max lashed out as she rounded on her partner.

"Me!" Amy questioned in disbelief. "I didn't do anything, how about the fact that you disobeyed a direct order?"

Max dismissed Amy's argument with a shake of her head. Despite the objective of the mission, direct orders were only given by her superiors and low life crime bosses definitely weren't superior in her book. "We're racers, it's what we do. She can't have been that pissed off about me setting up a little wager. You must have done something. I warned you Amy."

Amy glared at her partner, but remained mindful that they still had an avid audience listening to every word. "Warned me?" Amy scoffed. "Whatever makes you feel better Max, but if she decides to ban us from racing it's on you."

"Who the hell does she think she is? She can't do that!" Bobby asserted himself into the conversation.

"Yeah she can't do that. Can she?" Janet inquired as she sidled up beside her former captain.

"Oh she can," Scud informed them as he moved forward as well, "and believe me, she will."

Dominique casually walked up beside Max, while lighting a cigarette. She took a drag of her cigarette before turning to Max. "You work for the Reynolds now. That means she owns you. If Lucy tells you to do something, or not do something, you do it. This is her world and she makes the rules."

"_Nobody_ owns me," Max responded defiantly. She may have to play nice with the baddies, but she would be damned if she acted like an obedient lap dog as well.

Dominique took another pull from her cigarette. "That's what you think," she finished with a smirk.

Amy shot a worried glance in the direction that Lucy had disappeared. While she was more than happy to lay all the blame for this on Max's shoulders, she couldn't ignore that things had been strained with Lucy since her arrival. Bobby's appearance and fawning attention surely hadn't helped that situation at all. If she let the brunette just leave there was no telling if she would even speak to them again. Making up her mind she shot her partner one last exasperated look and pushed her way into the crowd, determined to catch up with the brunette before she could make her escape.

* * *

Having effectively established her authority, Lucy decided that her business was done for the night. She briskly made her way through the crowd in the warehouse and out the doors. She strode towards her motorcycle and grabbed her helmet, not really caring what decision Max made. If she chose to disobey her direct order and engage in an unauthorized race, it'd just be another issue she could be rid of. The blonde D.E.B especially.

In one smooth motion she straddled the bike, but before she could pull her helmet over her head a delicate hand grabbed her forearm. Lucy turned her head in the direction of the owner of said hand and her heart fluttered at the look of concern on Amy's face. It didn't however outweigh the feeling of fury that she still felt.

"What?" Lucy snapped, causing Amy to pull her hand away.

Taken aback at Lucy's sudden aggressive nature, Amy frowned and pulled her hand away. "Look about what happened back there with Max…," Amy went to explain but was cut off.

"You're not responsible for your partner; her actions are her own as will be the consequences. So don't apologize for her." Lucy's agitation could be heard in her tone.

Amy nodded slightly. "So, you're leaving already?" Amy's voice was small as she asked, mainly because she hadn't had a chance to spend any considerable amount of time with the object of her affection but also because Lucy had stormed away without even a thought of leaving her behind.

"Yeah, I'm done here." Lucy stated emotionlessly.

Amy's frown deepened and her heart started to ache. Even though her words were harsh, she was trying to see some kind of warmth behind the brunette's eyes. She was trying to find something of the woman that she had spent the afternoon with, but she couldn't. All she saw was emotionless pools of darkness staring back at her.

"I get that you're probably pissed about the whole thing with Max, but I can't help but think that maybe you're a little angry with me too. Did I do something wrong?" Amy asked, unable to wrap her mind around and pinpoint what could've transpired between them in the short time they'd spent apart.

"No," Lucy reply was short and screamed of nothing but a lie.

Amy sighed and shifted back and forth on her feet. She knew Lucy was lying and she couldn't help but think that the whole misunderstanding with Bobby could have something to do with it. Or maybe something happened between her and Riley when they were alone that caused Lucy to rethink wanting to give her up just yet. She wasn't sure what was going on and didn't want to assume so instead of jumping to any wrong conclusions and asking questions that could further set off the brunette, she decided to stick with the basics.

"So everything's okay?"

"Yeah, everything is fine. We discussed the upcoming race in Vegas and the date is set. Should be a blast. Can't wait," Lucy responded flippantly.

"That's not what I'm talking about Lucy, and you know it." Amy stated trying to remain calm; she knew nothing would get resolved if they both were angry.

Lucy shifted slightly on her bike to face the blonde. A look of confusion and a tinge of sadness were clearly displayed on the blonde's features and it made her feel like an asshole. It broke her heart and made her extremely uncomfortable to see such a look directed at her from the other girl.

However, recent conversations and thinking back to Bobby pawing at Amy with no protest from the girl, she quickly regained her resolve. "Look Amy, I don't know what you're talking about but I really don't have time for this." Lucy made a motion to put her helmet on but was once again stopped by Amy's hand on her forearm, which caused Lucy to sigh heavily.

"Okay, fine. But I'm going with you."

"What?" Lucy asked, shock clearly registering on her face.

"You heard me. I'm going with you," Amy asserted as she looked into now surprised eyes. "I don't know what happened or what it is I've done in the last couple of hours that has made your polar opposite make an appearance, but I'd like to know why and how to fix it." She told Lucy as she stepped closer. "Besides, you do owe me a bike ride, remember?"

Lucy nodded, vaguely remembering their first meeting when she had made the suggestion to the blonde. Her mind screamed at her to revoke the previous invitation she'd extended to the girl when things weren't so complicated and she wasn't at risk of getting hurt. However, her heart inserted itself into the battle and quickly won out as Lucy gazed at Amy. "Where do you want to go?" Lucy asked seemingly mesmerized with the deep blue twinkle of her eyes.

"I don't care," Amy shook her head as she held Lucy's gaze and place a soft hand against her cheek, "just take me with you."


	11. Chapter 11

**AN - As always thank you to everyone who are still reading and reviewing and for the newcomers welcome aboard! Believe it or not it DOES keep us quasi motivated...so please continue with the great feedback, it's well appreciated. Also, so long ago we did a poll to see if we should stick with the longer chapters or make them shorter, the longer ones won out so you guys will just have to put up with our long windedness (um...is that even a word?) At any rate hope you enjoy the chapter. Also, we're debating whether or not to change the rating from T to M, I guess it all depends on what you as the reader want to "see" as relationships develop, we're kinda pushing it with this one so feedback on that is welcomed. I think I can get my co-author to tackle some of the heavy petting if necessary :P Enjoy!  
**

**Chapter 11**

* * *

Amy's heart beat wildly in her chest as Lucy wound through another curve at a speed the blonde was sure would cause imminent death or at least some serious injury if the brunette didn't pull back. While logically she knew they were going too fast, she didn't care as she felt an overwhelming sense of freedom and the unrestrained power as the bike sped down the highway. Lucy was right in her prior assessment that riding on a motorcycle lets you focus on just being.

As the powerful machine vibrated between her thighs, a more prominent feeling washed over Amy as an undeniable fire spread throughout her body. She could try to reason that the sensation she was feeling was because of the bike pulsating against her more sensitive areas. However, she knew that'd be a lie, and although it did nothing to calm her heightening state of arousal, she knew the primary source of it stemmed from the beautiful brunette she was pressed so intimately against.

Amy squeezed her thighs more firmly around Lucy's and embraced her tighter as she pressed her front more securely against Lucy's back and ran her hands over her leather clad stomach. She could feel the rise and fall throughout Lucy's body as her breathing increased. Amy grinned and squeezed a little tighter, content to know that she was seemingly affecting Lucy as much as the other woman was affecting her.

As they made another sharp turn, Amy could see Lucy's mansion illuminated in the distance. When she had suggested that Lucy take her with her, she hadn't counted on Lucy bringing her back to her home. Although she'd been there before, it was never at a time when Max or some of Lucy's close associates weren't around.

She knew that technically, if she was supposed to be playing the part of a love interest that just happened into Lucy's path, it was normal and shouldn't be a big deal that they were going to be alone. However, love interest or not, she was still a D.E.B., and according to the handbook, being alone with a target with no backup or any means of communication with her partner, she was clearly violating a prime directive.

As Lucy slowed when she approached the gate, Amy suddenly started to felt very nervous, but it wasn't from the fact that she was going against her agency's rules, or that she could be in real danger with the criminal mastermind. Her nervousness stemmed from the fact that she was going to be alone with the raven-haired beauty with no apparent interruptions.

Amy's mind wandered back to their earlier encounter when Lucy's kiss had made her weak in the knees, and her touch had set her body on fire. Much to her displeasure, she had been forced to put a stop to the kissing and heavy petting. It had taken all her strength and willpower to put a halt to it earlier and it was a feeling her mind and body refuse to let her forget.

It was clear that she and Lucy had a healthy physical attraction to each other. Despite the fact that Lucy's demeanor had been nothing short of unpleasant, Amy was fearful she wouldn't be able to control her increasing affections for the brunette despite being under the pretense of an undercover operation. While she was unclear of Lucy's intentions for bringing her back to her home, being more intimate with the brunette was simply something she could not deny wanting to explore further.

Amy pulled her arms tighter around the brunette's small waist as she tried to press herself impossibly closer knowing that any thoughts of intimacy with the sexy brunette should be abated. It was something she couldn't afford to entertain, not now and if she was looking at things realistically, not ever.

However, in this moment, Amy wasn't thinking much of her law abiding status, all she knew was that Lucy's current state of regression, as far as they were concerned, was disheartening. She couldn't for the life of her figure out what had caused such a drastic change in the brunette but hopefully by the end of the night, she and would be able to find some means to rectify it.

Lucy eased her bike through the opening gates and drove the length of the driveway, bypassing the entrance that led to the main entrance of the house, and coasting to the lower level where she parked her vehicles. A garage door slid open and she eased the motorcycle in and parked it.

As if appearing seemingly out of nowhere, a man stood a few feet away from them, waiting for Lucy and her companion to dismount the bike. The man moved swiftly to take the helmets as Lucy quickly tugged her's off with Amy following suit.

Noticing the attire the blonde was wearing, holding one helmet in his hand and one under his arm, he extended his free hand to Amy and assisted her with getting off the motorcycle. She was grateful for the assistance seeing as it had indeed been a feat in itself for her to mount it with the short leather skirt she was wearing.

Much to Amy's annoyance, Lucy had watched in amusement as she struggled to mount the bike. After much struggling and no offer of assistance, Amy had finally hiked up her skirt to a more than revealing level, affording the brunette with the sight of her bare thighs and a hint of red lacey panties underneath, and had thrown her a leg over to straddle the bike and slid the helmet, courtesy of Dominique, over her head.

Watching Lucy's smoldering brown eyes travel up over her bare flesh before releasing a shuddered breath, Amy smirked, the expression safely hidden underneath the helmet as she felt the last bit of her annoyance evaporate.

Knowing how her earlier predicament had affected Lucy, Amy had wanted to have a repeat performance for her dismount, but the presence of the garage attendant made it impossible. Unable to tease the brunette again, Amy reached out and grasped the offered hand, dismounting the large bike much more easily than before.

"Thanks," she him as she stood and walked further inside and looked around the massive garage. The size of it could probably fit the modest house that she and Max's shared plus the rundown apartment that they were currently occupying because of their mission.

There were several motorcycles and cars parked inside, ranging from vintage to modern to some prototypes Amy was sure hadn't been viewed by the public eye yet.

"You can park it, I won't need it again tonight," Lucy told the man as she dismounted the bike.

"I'll take care of it," he responded dutifully as he walked to a shelf and placed the helmets in a glass case. "Do you need for me to prepare another vehicle for later?"he asked over his shoulder.

Lucy looked briefly to Amy, wondering what the blonde's intentions were for the rest of the night. Would she stay or would she want to be taken home later? "Not right now. If I need anything, I'll take care of it myself."

"Very well, I'll just get this cleaned up and back in its place," the man told Lucy as he walked back to attend to the motorcycle.

"Impressive," Amy stated as Lucy finally walked over and stood next to her. "Max would be drowning in her own drool right now if she saw this."

"Max may not be around long enough to see anything," Lucy replied as she grabbed Amy's hand and led her across the room past the vehicles and to an elevator. She pressed a code into a keypad making the door slide open and motioned for Amy to step inside.

As soon as they were inside, Lucy immediately dropped Amy's hand and pushed a button causing the elevator to rise. Amy took a quick look around, purely out of habit and noticed there was a camera placed above the door. Her gaze then landed on the brunette that was leaning against the far wall.

Luckily, their commute was a short one because the air in the elevator was thick with tension as Amy watched Lucy trying to look at anything but her. The elevator came to a halt and as soon as the door opened Lucy motioned a hand for Amy to step out. Amy pushed herself away from the wall she had been leaning against and stepped out into a hallway with Lucy immediately following.

As she walked down the hallway Amy noticed the placement of six more cameras along the length of the corridor and wondered just how many more were hanging around the house and where exactly they were located. She guessed privacy was out of the question.

Wordlessly, Lucy stepped around Amy and walked the down the wall towards a single door to the right. As she approached, she punched in a numerical code on the keypad that was placed by the door. With an audible click, the door latch release and Lucy was able to turn the handle to open it. Ever the "gentleman" Lucy once again motioned for Amy to enter first before following and closing the door behind her.

Once inside, Amy noticed that the door had led under a single winding staircase. She gasped at the beautiful sight in front of her. The room they'd stepped into was a large living room area. She stepped further into the space and looked on in awe at several beautiful paintings adorning the walls. The array of colors splashed wildly across the canvases captivated Amy's attention; they were such a contrast to the pristine look of the white furniture and walls with a crystal chandelier hanging overhead.

"These are beautiful," Amy told Lucy as she looked around at the art on the walls.

"They were all done by my mom," Lucy confessed.

"Your mom is an artist?" Amy turned to face Lucy with an awed look.

Lucy's eyes narrowed slightly at Amy's use of the word 'is', as in present tense. She knew that Amy probably was aware that her mother was no longer living, she just didn't know if the 'undercover' agent was supposed to be aware of it. After all, as a budding couple, they hadn't exactly discussed how much Amy the 'girl next door' knew about her life.

"She was."

"Wow, I can't even imagine the time it took for her to finish these abstracts," Amy said absently as she walked up to one of the paintings, seemingly unaware of Lucy's past reference to her mother. Her head tilted slightly as she ran her hands along the painting, feeling out the details in which it was created.

Lucy allowed herself to look around as well. She rarely visited this particular part of the house since she'd been back, but her father had kept it almost identical to how it was since her mother had died all those years ago. She stood back watched the look of admiration splayed on Amy's face as she spoke. She saw the blonde move from wall to wall, stopping at each painting and smoothing her slender fingers over them.

After a few minutes in front of each, she watched the blonde's face light up as if she'd figured out some type of secret the piece of art held. She knew from the information Scud had dug up on Amy that the girl had applied to several prestigious art schools around the world, so she knew that Amy herself was a budding artist. What she couldn't figure out though was what was it that the D.E.B.S could've offered the blonde that would make her drop her future plans to join their ranks.

"Yeah, she would spend long hours in her studio working. A lot of her work is hanging up in her private gallery too, along with sculptures and other paintings you'd probably find more recognizable." There wasn't a painting on the planet that was safe from Lorenzo Reynolds clutches if his wife mentioned that she'd like to have it gracing her wall.

Lucy smiled, thinking back to some of the heist she'd had the opportunity to accompany her father on. It wasn't until she was fifteen that she started to plan her own heist, and graduated to diamond theft. After all, they were a girl's best friend and why she came to adopt the pseudo name Diamond. It wasn't until she'd started Pink Thunder that she started gun running for the family. She soon learned that they were a girl's best friend as well.

Amy turned to look at Lucy, never once had the criminal mastermind mentioned her parents or anything regarding her family life to her, so it made her smile happily that she chose to open up and share, if only a little with her. Amy wanted to take a closer look, not only because she was mesmerized by the beautiful art, but because her instinct was still intact and she knew of several files the D.E.B.S had that purported the Reynolds as being notorious art thieves. She couldn't help but wonder if some of the art that Lucy mentioned were amongst these alleged heists.

Instead, she felt Lucy's warm hand slide into hers and tug her up a few stairs leading from the living room area. As she followed, she saw that the carpeted stairway led to a corridor where more paintings were hung along the walls and had several closed doors. Continuing their walk, they ended up in a large kitchen.

"Wow, I think your kitchen is bigger than my whole apartment," Amy said in awe. "In fact I think your whole house is larger than my complex."

"I've seen your place. So I think you may be right," Lucy looked back with a teasing grin. Amy only rolled her eyes playfully, glad that, although not by much, Lucy seemed to be in a better mood than she was when she'd encountered her leaving the party.

Lucy turned and pushed through another large door, they then entered the dining room that led to the main foyer, an area with which Amy was familiar. Exiting the foyer and still holding onto Amy's hand, Lucy made her way up the staircase and headed for her room.

Once there, Lucy once again opened the door for Amy and allowed her to enter before her. Lucy quickly unzipped and pulled off her jacket, walking over and throwing it on the back of one couches. She turned back to see Amy watching her intently. She watched and felt the blonde's blue eyes silently pleading with her to let her in, to relieve them of the uncomfortable silence they'd fallen into once again.

Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable, Lucy found herself at a loss of what to do or what to say. "I um…I'll be right back," Lucy told her as she hooked her thumb over her shoulder before scampering off to the bathroom.

Entering and quickly closing the door behind her, Lucy let out a heavy sigh and she leaned against the door with her eyes closed. "Real smooth Diamond," she quietly spoke into the room as she flipped on the light switch, pushed herself off the door and headed towards the sink. She braced her hands against the sink and looked at herself in the mirror.

She had a hot chick in her bedroom that despite what she is, obviously wanted to fuck her, why else would she have wanted to accompany her home, and here she was acting like a tool. This would be the second time within weeks that she would miss the opportunity to get laid because of her over active mind. She really needed to get her shit together.

Despite the fact that Amy was a D.E.B and was undercover, Lucy was sure that Amy was indeed attracted to her. This little fact was what gave Lucy the confidence to continue to pursue the D.E.B. and continue on with the visage that she didn't know who and what she was instead of sending her and her partner on their way with a failed mission to report.

What she wasn't sure of until tonight was the fact that she wanted the blonde all to herself and possibly something more than a quick roll in the sack. Jealousy was obviously a truth serum and seeing Amy with the sandy blonde DHS beef stick, once again, made her blood boil. She wanted him gone and out of Amy's life, but the fact that the blonde seemed to want him as well posed a problem in itself.

She wasn't use to competition, at least where her love life was concerned. Love life. Is that what she had? Love in her life? More like a love triangle Lucy thought. "Fuck," she said as she turned on the faucet and threw cold water on her face. She _really_ needed to get her shit together. This was a game. One to see who could outdo the other and if Lucy was sure of anything, she was good at deception. It was something she'd been taught well and what kept the Reynolds at the top. It was her life. She knew she was better than any government agency out there; D.E.B.S especially.

She would simply stick to her game plan and after she succeeded, all these feelings she was feeling would simply go away after the impending fuck she was about to engage in with the girl waiting for her in her room. At least they had better, because she was getting sick of this emotional rollercoaster she had been on since meeting the blonde.

After drying her face, she shed herself of the halter top she had on and walked over to the wall cabinet, pulling out a black tank top and roughly shoved it over her head while toeing off her boots. She briefly thought about making herself completely comfortable and go with her usual bed attire of tank and sweats, but she thought better of the idea, thinking it'd probably be to presumptuous of her where the blonde was concerned, and she definitely didn't want to seem eager to the girl. Heaving another sigh, Lucy turned off the light and exited the bathroom, ready to face the D.E.B. once again.

Closing the bathroom door behind her, she entered the room and found Amy slowly walking along her dresser eyeing the contents, her fingers lightly running over some of the ribbons that were placed around it.

The blonde stopped at a framed picture of a young Lucy in a dobok, receiving a black belt with and an older man and woman smiling proudly as they looked on. It was the same picture that was in Lucy's office.

Lucy watched as Amy lifted the picture from the dresser to study it intently. It made her tense to have such an intimate part of her life scrutinized so closely by the agent. Lucy quickly walked up behind the blonde and took the picture out of her hand and placed it back on the dresser.

Amy jumped slightly at the reappearance of the brunette and turned to face her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine," Lucy said, dismissing the blonde's apology as she leaned against the dresser.

"Is that your mother?" Amy asked. She knew the man in the picture was Lorenzo Reynolds, Lucy's father, she'd seen several photos of him before in the paper and in some of the files she had regarding the Reynolds organization. However, this was the first time she'd ever seen a picture of who she assumed to be Lucy's mother. "She's beautiful," Amy made the comment on seeing Lucy's solemn nod at the question. Lucy only nodded her agreement again.

"Where is she?" Amy treaded dangerously with her current line of questioning; knowing that as an agent she knew everything there was to know about Lucy's parent's whereabouts, but not as the girl she was pretending to be.

However, where Lucy's mother was concerned, Amy could honestly say that she knew nothing of the woman or her whereabouts. She has seen the few grainy photos that occupied Lucy's file, but even then if the woman were to come up to her and shake her hand she'd have no clue who she was.

What exactly did happen to the Reynolds matriarch was always speculation in the government world. As far as the rumor mill had it, some said that one day she just up and left Lorenzo, not able to deal with his brutal ways. The story even went as far as to say that when she tried to leave she made an attempt to take Lucy with her and that's when the Reynolds patriarch had her murdered.

The most plausible it seemed was that she had perished during the early years of Reynolds/Schaffer rivalry, seeing as it was around that time when she seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. It was said that her death is what made it escalate and become a full-blown blood war.

Lucy's brows furrowed and her jaw clenched at Amy's question. She was fully aware that Amy probably knew everything that was to know about her, probably even her blood type. This just further proved to Lucy that Amy's one and only goal was still to take her down, and now it seemed that Amy was trying to get Lucy to open up to her. Something Lucy refused to do, at least not this way. If Amy wanted to play this little game, Lucy would indeed play back. She took a few safe steps away from the blonde, not really trusting the close proximity and where her next question could take them.

Sighing heavily and walking over to the small bar she kept stocked in her bedroom, she grabbed a bottle of vodka and twisted off the cap. Pouring some into glass she quickly downed the shot, relishing in the warming sensation as it settled in the pit of her stomach. Lucy looked thoughtful before pouring herself another shot and downing it quickly before turning back to the blonde. "How long have you been in L.A.?" Lucy asked, tilting her head to regard Amy who was still looking at the picture.

Amy looked over at Lucy, her own brows beginning to furrow at the question, something in the brunettes tone belying the seemingly innocuous question. "Well, about eight years or so. I moved out here right out of high school. Why do you ask?"

Without asking the agent if she wanted a drink, Lucy reached for another glassed and poured Amy a healthy amount of the clear liquid and handed it to her. She figured a little liquid encouragement would be just what she needed to loosen the agents tongue for their current topic of the night.

Amy paused for a moment, before she reached out and took the offered glass, "Um, sure. Thanks," she said with a small smile and took a small sip, resisting the urge to cringe at the burning sensation. Although she didn't mind partaking in a few drinks to loosen up, she only stuck to the more subtle less than 80 proof alcoholic beverages. But with the sudden return of the tension, she figured something a little stronger couldn't hurt.

"Well, although we haven't talked about it…hell we haven't talked about much other than racing actually," Lucy mused aloud, "I'm going to make the assumption that you know all about my family, correct?" Lucy crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the agent in challenge.

"Yes, but I only know what I've read in the papers or seen on TV," Amy replied apprehensively, not liking where this line of questioning could end up.

"And?"

"And what?"

"And what is it you think you know?" Lucy questioned.

"I don't _think_ I know anything Lucy, it's like I said, anything I've heard is all second hand. But is there perhaps something you want to tell me? Like what the hell is your problem for starters?" Amy bit back as she sat the glass she was holding on the dresser.

Lucy scoffed disdainfully as she reached over and picked up the glass and downed half of its contents, "I'm not the one with the problem. You're the one pretending not to know anything about me and my family." Lucy accused, her temper getting the best of her as she raised her hand in the direction of the blonde, unfortunately it was the one that was still grasping the glass and she spilled some of its contents.

Amy internally began to panic. Was her cover blown? Was this why Lucy had been so cold and distance with her since she'd dropped her off earlier in the day? If indeed it had been, she was in deep trouble. This was the very reason no agent was allowed to go undercover alone, or given permission to deviate from the mission that would allow them to be by themself with a target without being wired or at least monitored.

She had stupidly allowed her feelings to override her judgment when she took off after Lucy and now here she was a lamb, in a lion's den with no apparent means of escape. Max was so going to add an "I told you so" in her eulogy.

With the expectant look she was getting, Amy knew she had to think fast. Her mind quickly ran over the night's events trying to decipher through the brunette's actions. Although Lucy had been a bitch at times, she never showed any outright malice, and there were the occasions she could see warmth in the brunette's eyes when her gaze lingered on her own. Her touch was soft and when she allowed it, her body language showed that she was actually comfortable in her presence.

Given her profile training, Amy couldn't conclude with certainty that Lucy was on to her. What she could determine was that the raven-haired girl was obviously upset about something. It was something that had apparently been stewing all evening. Amy only hoped that she was right in her half-assed assessment and decided to go with her instinct.

After all, she was the perfect liar.

"I'm not pretending!" Amy yelled, at least being partially truthful. Yes, Amy did know some things about the Reynolds family, one being that they were the criminal world's most dangerous foe. Sure they got that way through means of takeovers and mergers, but it was mainly through violence and bloodshed. She also knew that Lucy was the world's most notorious diamond thief, but even that was speculation because no one had actually proven it. Case in point being the reason Ms. Petrie had deemed it necessary to deploy her and Max to this undercover mission. The brunette was _that_ good.

Truth be told, everything she knew about Lucy was all handed down to her in a file or mouth fed to her by instructors or department heads. The only thing she could honestly say she knew was a strike against the girl's criminal record was the illegal street racing she engaged in. When it really came down to it, Amy realized that she really and truly knew nothing at all.

"Yeah, I've seen a lot of shit about your family in the paper and on TV. I know they have the Reynolds pegged as the biggest crime organization in the U.S. and yes, I know about what happened to your dad a few months ago, hell it was the biggest cover story for weeks and for your sake I'm sorry. But I only asked about your mother because I genuinely don't know! Like you said Lucy, the only thing we talk about is racing, so forgive me for actually wanting to get to know the person I want to spend all my time with!"

Lucy looked startled by the blonde's seemingly truthful outburst. Deep down she wanted to believe that they were the words of a smitten suitor, but she knew that it'd have been futile for Amy to pretend to have lived under a rock for the last eight years and to not say the things that she wanted to hear.

With a deep sigh Lucy tried to reel in her temper, she knew it'd get her nowhere fast and was a sure fire way to get her to blow Amy's cover right out of the water. Instead she downed the rest of the drink and slammed it on the dresser before she turned her back on the D.E.B. and walked over to her bed and sat down heavily as she ran a hand roughly over her brow at Amy's admission.

Her head began to swim from the alcohol and from the fact that she was furious at Amy for bringing up such a raw topic for her. Her parents. It was something Lucy hadn't dared discuss with even those close to her and here was the government agent bringing them up like it was an everyday run of the mill conversation, granted she was the one who had continued to push the conversation.

However, the words spoken in the outburst had her mind reeling at how freely the words left Amy's lips and how honest they sounded.

"My mother's dead," Lucy ground out through gritted teeth as she looked at Amy. She didn't know where the words had come from, but she found herself confessing what she was sure the girl already knew. Maybe it was having held in her emotions for so long and hiding behind her work so she wouldn't have to talk about her parents, maybe it was the soft, concerned look she saw in Amy's blue eyes, or _maybe_ it was the alcohol that was coursing through her system causing her to loose her inhibitions that made her continue.

"Long before my father…fourteen years ago to be exact. It was a car explosion...just like my father, as you already know. We were going to some big art show in West Hollywood, but at the last minute my dad had some business to attend too and he took Scud with him so I faked a stomach ache so I wouldn't have to go either. She knew I was lying," Lucy remembered with a small smile, "she always knew when I was lying, but she didn't make a fuss about it, she always called me and a daddy's girl and knew how I always like following behind him. Not wanting Dom to suffer through it alone, she allowed her to stay behind as well and she just kissed us goodbye and made sure the staff wouldn't give me any junk food no matter how better I said I was after she left." Lucy took a shuddered breath before looking away and squeezing her eyes shut.

Amy had stood there quietly listening and watching the play of emotions cross Lucy's face as she spoke. Her immediate reaction was to reach and hold her while she told the story that she could clearly see was difficult for the brunette to talk about, but she didn't. Once again, Lucy was opening up to her and she thought that if she breathed too loudly it would interrupt the air around them and cause Lucy to close herself off again.

With her eyes still closed, and as if she was reliving it all over again, Lucy began to shake slightly when she started to speak again. "The explosion shook the whole compound and I ran to the balcony just in time to see Scud and some of the other guys dragged my dad away from the burning wreckage so he wouldn't be hit with the still exploding debris."

Lucy shuddered as she remembered the horrifying scene. "Even though the car was nearly out of the gates, it felt like I could feel the heat rising from the burning car in waves. It's like everything around me was in slow motion as I watched the flames and the black smoke clouding the air. The only other sound I could hear over the explosions was my father crying out and I turned to watch him fall to his knees."

Lucy looked up at Amy with red-rimmed eyes that shone with unshed tears. "We were all supposed to be in the car that," Lucy said with a nod. "We were all supposed to die that day, not just my mom. We should've all…," Lucy shook her head roughly and took a raggedy breath while a stifled sob fought its way passed her throat, "We should've all died together." She finished.

Amy couldn't stand it any longer, she swiped at the tears that had spilt down her face as she listened to the broken criminal tell her what happened. She rushed to Lucy's side and sat down beside her and immediately threw her arms around her. She was surprised, but glad when Lucy shifted slightly in her arms and buried her face into the side of her neck with a loud sob as she clung to the material of her shirt.

"And my dad…I…wasn't even here." Lucy managed through a broken sob. "I never should've went to Tokyo and left him here alone."

Amy only held her tighter and rubbed a soothing hand over Lucy's back as she felt the cool, wet tears stain her skin. She turned her head so she could lay a gentle kiss on the side of the brunette's head.

"Lucy this isn't your fault. None of this is. The only outcome if you had been in either car is that you wouldn't be alive either." Amy told her in what she hoped was a soothing tone as she whispered the words in her ear even though it did nothing to calm the overwhelming sick feeling she got in the pit of her stomach. Lucy not being alive and with her now made her stomach churn and managed to break her heart a little at the thought, and it caused her to hold onto the sobbing girl even tighter.

The two stayed like that for several minutes, with Amy alternating between stroking Lucy's back and her head while placing small kisses on it and praying that it was at least a little bit of comfort for the distraught girl in her arms.

After a while though, Lucy started to calm down and her grip on Amy's shirt started to lessen. Feeling slightly embarrassed of how she'd broken down like she had in front of the D.E.B., she pulled out of the warm embrace and swiftly swiped the back of her hand across her eyes. She faced forward and bent over, resting her forearms along her thighs. With a heavy sigh she turned her head slightly and chanced a brief glance at Amy before facing forward again.

"Sorry," Lucy mumbled as she felt a blush creep up over her neck and color her face. This was really not how she was planning on spending the evening with the sexy blonde. Lucy heaved a shuddered sigh and clasped her hands tightly together in front of her as she stared straight ahead.

This was the first time Lucy allowed herself to talk about what had happened with her parents. After her mom had been killed, her and her dad had never spoken about what had taken place. The fact that her dad had been so hell bent on revenge also factored into this. Even after a copious amount of blood had been shed in the name of his murdered wife, Lorenzo Reynolds still remained closed off from his family.

If it wasn't for the fact that she had Scud and Dominique there, Lucy is sure she would've been just as jaded as her father had been. When there was nothing but blood and death surrounding them, the comforting bond of her surrogate siblings was what had kept their small, diminishing family together. It was also then that Scud had taken on what could be considered his debut role as head of security and stern protector over the two girls as well as his father figure.

Even after she had started dating Riley, and knew with certainty that she could trust the Schaffer heir, after all Riley hadn't tried to set her up and have her offed, she'd never brought up that horrendous day with her girlfriend. There were times when Riley tried to get her to open up about it, but Lucy always brushed it off, only telling her girlfriend that it was a hurtful memory that destroyed both their families and she didn't want to bring it up and have it possibly come between them as well.

However, deep down, Lucy knew that the feelings that day invoked in her were something she didn't want to talk about with anyone. She often wondered if it was her father's avoidance of the sensitive subject that made her that way as well.

In that instant, she started to panic and wonder what had made her break her silence after so long and suddenly blurt out the tale to a girl she barely knew. One that was ultimately there to destroy her.

"Hey," Amy said softly while carefully examining the profile features of the saddened brunette. Her jaw was clenched tightly and her eyes were fixated on some imaginary spot on the wall in front of her. When Lucy didn't respond, Amy moved closer causing her to thigh to press up against Lucy's and reached out and placed a hand over Lucy's closed ones. "Hey," Amy tried again, this time getting a reaction.

Lucy's eyes started to flutter as she was brought back from her emotionless stare. She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled as she moved her head to stare down at the hand Amy had placed over hers. She stared for a long moment before she felt Amy's other hand come up to thread her fingers through her hair and softly brushing it behind her ear and start stroking the nape of her neck.

A calming feeling washed over Lucy as she felt the blonde touching her so tenderly. She unclasped her hands and allowed Amy to slip hers between them and lace their fingers together. She stared at their entwined hands and started to slowly trace her fingers along the backside of Amy's hand and finally looked over into warm, genuinely concerned blue eyes.

"You don't have anything to be sorry about," Amy told her and gave what she hoped was a comforting squeeze of her hand.

Lucy heaved another shuddered sigh and shook her head. "Yes I do" she said quietly, her emotions still raw and threatening to spill to the surface. "I shouldn't have unloaded all of that on you. It was inappropriate and not something you needed to witness. It's just that I've…I've never," Lucy shook her head again and unclasped her hands, effectively breaking the hold she had on the other girl's hand and even though she missed the softness of it nestled between her own she quickly stood and started to pace a little.

The slow deliberate pace the brunette was on could only be described as watching a fearful, cage animal trying to figure out a means of escape. However, Amy didn't want her to try to escape and hide from her tearful confession. She knew that Lucy was regretting opening up such a hurtful and intimate part of herself, but she wanted her to know that it was okay and that she could trust her with her feelings.

This thought made Amy feel extremely guilty as she thought about what she was actually doing. She was attempting to get Lucy to trust and confide in her under the guise of a love interest, when in fact she knew that technically, she was just the opposite. _'Why couldn't we have met under totally different circumstances'_, Amy mused as she watched the criminal mastermind pacing.

After several seconds of just watching the girl, Amy had come to a conclusion that no matter what happened between them as far as her mission was concerned, she knew she'd never use what Lucy had just told her to purposely hurt her or use it as a means of misguided trust. She'd simply keep what Lucy had told her to herself and if the beautiful brunette wanted to talk about it again, she'd simply just listen and be there for her like she had been a few minutes ago.

Amy stood and walked the few steps over and reached out to catch an arm, halting Lucy from moving. When Lucy finally turned to meet her gaze, Amy's breath caught in her throat from the intensity of it. Lucy's eyes were still red from the onslaught of tears that they were privy to moments before, and Amy wasn't sure if she should brace herself for another melt down from the girl. At that point, she was unsure whether she wanted to wrap Lucy up in another embrace or kiss her for all she was worth.

Instead, she decided to compromise and she slid her hand down Lucy's arm to intertwine their fingers again, the intimate gesture was something she'd quickly grown fond of, and she leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on Lucy's lips, lingering briefly before pulling back and caressing her face. "Look, I know what it's like okay? And this isn't anything you have to feel ashamed or regretful about."

Lucy only shook her head and swatted Amy's hands away. This was one of the reasons she'd told herself why she'd never shared what happened with anyone, she didn't want their pity. "No you don't know, you couldn't possibly understand…," Lucy abruptly cut her sentence off though and looked thoughtful to the blonde. She suddenly remembered that the briefing Scud had done a few weeks back on the agents yielded that Amy did in fact know what it was like. Suddenly she felt like an asshole.

"Yes Lucy, I do understand. Both of my parents are gone too, so believe me I know what you're going through," Amy said softly as she closed the distance Lucy had just put between them.

Amy watched as the mix of emotions played across Lucy's face and was sure that the same mixed emotions were lending itself to her features as well. This little tidbit into her personal life wasn't exactly something she'd planned on revealing to the brunette, and was something she really didn't want to delve much into. It hurt too much, but she wanted Lucy to know that she did understand, so before the brunette could ask about what she'd just said, she decided to offer something else instead.

"Lucy," Amy said with a shuddered sigh as she finally looked up and her eyes caught Lucy's intense gaze. She raised a shaky hand to place it against Lucy cheek, "I can't promise that it'll get better anytime soon, but if you ever need to talk about it, I can promise that I'll be here."

Lucy watched the blonde's face, and more importantly the tear rimmed, blue eyes that bore so deeply into her own. There were so many questions she wanted to ask about Amy's life afterwards, and just how she found the strength to cope and move past it all. But instead, Lucy only nodded as she fell deeper into Amy's eyes and then turned her head slightly to kiss Amy's palm and caress her delicate wrist. "Thank you," was all Lucy could say.

Amy responded with a small smile before her other hand came up and cupped the other side of Lucy's face. When Lucy turned her dark gaze back into sad blue orbs, Amy couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of understanding and genuine gratitude that washed over her in the face of what was supposed nemesis. She couldn't help the stifled sob that pushed its way past her throat and out through her lips.

At first Lucy was startled by this sudden turn of events, one minute the blonde was coddling her and trying to convince her that everything would be okay, and now here she was having a breakdown at obviously remembering her own parent's deaths. It made Lucy internally curse herself for allowing the conversation to take a turn towards such a delicate nature.

After the initial shock wore off, Lucy's hardened exterior and prior motives were shattered with seeing the blonde look so broken and sad. She was compelled to place a comforting arm around the girl waist and when Amy threw her arms around her and buried her head in her neck with a sob, she wrapped her other arm around her and pulled her closer. "Shhh, it's okay," Lucy whispered into silky blonde hair and placing a gentle kiss against Amy's temple head while rubbing her back soothing. This however, only seemed to spur the distraught agent on even more as her sobbing increased.

Lucy only held the crying girl tighter, loving the feel of her arms wrapped in her arms. A shiver ran down the length of Lucy's spine at the feelings that now travelled throughout her body. She knew that it was probably inappropriate to be thinking lusty thoughts at such an intense, sorrowful moment, but she couldn't deny the fact that having the blonde pressed so intimately against her set a fire throughout her entire being.

Her heart beat was frantic in her chest and she couldn't deny that it was from more than the feeling of sexual frustration or a mere physical attraction to the girl she was holding. She knew deep down that it was more and it made her want to pull away from fear that everything she was feeling would be put on display for the D.E.B. to see. However, she remained in the clutches of the blonde agent, more than compliant to be the shoulder that she cried on.

After a several long minutes of them standing together in each other's arms, Amy calmed down enough to where her sobbing had stopped and she pulled back with a sniffle and looked at Lucy. Pulling her arms from around Lucy's neck, Amy wiped at her face. "I'm sorry, I must look awful."

Lucy released her hold on her and leaned against the dresser. "No, you're beautiful," Lucy said softly as she reached over and tucked a stray strand of hair behind the blonde's ear. This caused Amy to roll her eyes playfully. "But feel free to use the bathroom if you want." Lucy motioned with her head.

"Thanks," Amy said as she wiped a few stray tears away from her face and headed in the direction indicated.

Lucy pushed herself off the dresser and went and flopped heavily onto her bed. She was such an emotional wreck right now it was making her tired. One minute she felt she should be kicking the girl out on her ass, and the other she just wanted to hold her in her arms and not let go.

"What the fuck am I doing?" Lucy whispered harshly into the empty room and she turned to pick up the photo that Amy had been previously scrutinizing. She walked slowly over to her bed and sat down with the photo clutched in her hands and chuckled ruefully from thoughts of knowing exactly what her dad would've done with the two meddling agents. The all-female agency had been a constant thorn in his side as well. She could hear him now. "Lucy, the only good D.E.B. is a dead D.E.B."

To this day, she still was unsure if her dad had actually took the motto at face value and had been responsible for the death of any of the organizations agents or if it was simply one of those tongue-in-cheek sort of things. Lucy knew her dad to be many things, a ruthless business man, a stern father, she even knew whether it was by hand or word of mouth he was responsible for many deaths of their rivalries. But a cold blooded cop killer, that she wasn't sure of.

She sighed heavily as she looked at the picture. It was a moment frozen in time to when she'd been happier. A time to when she'd felt safe and loved.

Not that she didn't feel those things with Dominique and Scud, they were a part of her family and she knew that they'd both put themselves in harm's way to protect her, just as she would for them. But nothing could compare to the love of a parent and the feeling that everything will be okay as long as they were around. It was something Lucy no longer had and something she could never get back, and now something she knew that Amy also felt.

Lucy's thoughts were interrupted as she heard the door to her bathroom open and she saw Amy emerge. Just like before, her heart began a fast, unyielding thud in her chest and she had to close her eyes and try to steady her breathing at the sight of the graceful form walking her way and the feel of the bed sinking beside her.

The silence stretched for several seconds before Lucy opened her eyes and turned to see Amy perched on the edge of the bed, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Lucy reached out and laid a comforting hand in the middle of the blonde's back. Stroking up and down gently she asked, "Feel better?"

"Yeah," Amy answered turning her body to meet the brunette's gaze, a faint stain of embarrassment on her cheeks. "Sorry about that, I just haven't really ever had anyone to talk to about my parents, and when you started talking about your mom and dad it just brought it all back to the surface."

Lucy gave her a faint smile, her hand still stroking soothingly. "No worries. To be honest I haven't really talked about it all that much either."

Amy looked at her questioningly. "Not even with Scud or Dom?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, I mean sure they'd understand but they had their own stuff to deal with too, I didn't want to burden them with mine." Truth be told, Lucy really didn't want to talk about it. Whenever the subject was broached she always strayed away from it and changed the subject, like she wanted to do now.

She moved her hand from Amy's back and moved so she was now lying on the bed. With a small smile she patted the spot beside her invitingly. "C'mon, lay with me."

With a nod, Amy used her free hand to grasp the hem of her skirt, which seemed determined to keep riding up, and carefully swung her legs up onto the bed. Once she was fully prone she tried futilely to tug the stubborn garment down another inch or so. Seeing the blonde's struggles with her attire Lucy couldn't help but smirk.

"You know I don't mind, right?" Lucy asked teasingly, looking for a way to lighten heavy atmosphere.

Finally giving up the battle Amy rolled her head to the side to meet the brunette's laughing gaze. "Maybe not but I swear this skirt has been a pain in the ass all night. Fashionable? Yes. Practical? Not so much."

"Well you can always take it off," Lucy told her, her teasing nature turning suggestive as she toyed with the hem of the skirt. "I can give you a hand with that."

Amy leaned over and placed a brief but passionate kiss on Lucy's lips. "Maybe later," she whispered against her lips and pulled back with a wink to gaze at the brunette. Amy couldn't help the laughter that tore through her at Lucy's surprised looked. Satisfied with the result, she snuggled down on her side against Lucy with a content sigh and draped an arm over her abdomen. This time when the skirt began to crawl up her thigh, she ignored it, unable to deny that she liked having Lucy's eyes on her.

Lucy narrowed her eyes. _Fucking tease!_ She thought, but couldn't help the smirk that crossed her lips. Given how the night had started, it made her feel good to hear the blonde laughing, even if it was at her expense. She shifted to accommodate the welcomed weight on her side, and noticing her intentions; Amy lifted her head so that Lucy could move her arm around her and laid her head against her shoulder.

Lucy then began stroking Amy's arm that was resting across her stomach and noticed that she had given up the battle with her wardrobe. Lucy allowed her eyes to travel along the blonde's long legs and up to the expanse of flesh that was so enticingly on display.

"What about Max?" Lucy suddenly asked as she cleared her throat. She needed something else to focus on, knowing that if she didn't, her perv meter was about to reach an all-time high.

Amy raised her head and sent the brunette a puzzled look, not quite following her train of thought. First, offering to undress her then to asking about Max definitely didn't mix. "What about her?" She asked, laying her head back on Lucy's shoulder.

"You said you have never had anyone to talk to about your mom and dad, I just assumed that you and Max were pretty tight."

Amy couldn't stop herself from snorting in disbelief. "Don't get me wrong, Max is good at a lot of things, but a heartfelt chat is not on that list."

Lucy chuckled, "Yeah I kinda get that about her. But if you ever want to talk about them, I'm a great listener," she told Amy as she moved her hand to clasped over the blonde's and squeezed it gently.

Amy smiled faintly and squeezed the brunette's hand in return. "Thank you, and just so you know, that offer goes both ways."

Lucy sighed heavily but nodded appreciatively anyway. Unless it was to find out who was responsible, she knew that was a conversation she didn't want to have again anytime soon.

"You should give her another chance," Amy stated as she peered up at Lucy, making the girl frown slightly.

"Who?" Lucy asked confused.

"Max." Lucy rolled her eyes, as she thought back to the confrontation with said girl. "I'm not trying to tell you how to run your business, but I know you want to win that race, and I know she can."

"You put an awful lot of faith in her."

"I know, but that's because I've known her a long time and competing is what she does best," Amy proclaimed. "I just know that if you give her another chance, you won't regret it." She wasn't exactly sure what Lucy had decided to do with her stubborn partner, but she figured a little damage control was in order.

They simply couldn't afford for Lucy to dump Max from the race. Amy reasoned that if that happened, it'd mean that their chances of infiltration were next to impossible, but she knew deep down that that it'd also mean that she wouldn't get to spend more time with the criminal mastermind and that was something she wasn't willing to let go of just yet.

Lucy sighed again. "Well to be honest with you, I haven't decided anything where Max is concerned. I guess it all depends on what she decided to do tonight."

"Just go easy on her," Amy shifted and propped herself on her elbow to look down at Lucy. She slid her hand that Lucy was covering up to brush the brunette's bangs away from her eyes so she could look directly into them. "Please, for me?" she pleaded with best puppy dog eyes and a pout in place.

Lucy smiled softly as she looked into gorgeous blue eyes and took in the adorable pout. She mirrored Amy's action and raised a hand and brushed Amy's hair back then threaded her fingers through her hair, finally bringing her hand to rest on the nape of her neck and she gazed into mesmerizing blue eyes.

"We'll see," Lucy said finally, not wanting to make any promises to the blonde she didn't mean to keep. Business was business, and if Max had indeed engaged in an unauthorized race she would have to suffer the consequences, no matter how much her beautiful partner went to bat for her.

Not wanting to talk about business any longer, Lucy pulled slightly on Amy urging her near with her million dollar smile in place.

Amy rolled her eyes playfully but allowed herself to be pulled down to meet Lucy's lips with her own. The kiss was soft at first, so much so both girls smiled against each other's lips from the sweetness of it. Amy was the first to pull back slightly to look into Lucy's eyes once again. Her breath hitched quietly at what she saw.

Lucy was looking at her with such fire and affection that her heart instantly began a rhythm she thought would have it finding its way out of her chest. She was mesmerized by it, never before had she seen someone look at her with such desire and passion.

Even when she and Bobby had first started dating, and she actually liked him, she hadn't seen anything past lust when she looked at him. So this feeling that she was feeling now, was new and it scared her; she didn't know what to do with it or what it meant. Her natural instincts kicked in, and they told her to run. That's what you did when you're afraid or if your opponent caught you off guard and you were trapped, you ran. Trapped was exactly how she felt. Playing at attraction was one thing, but if genuine emotions were added to the mix it would make this entire situation impossible. She knew that her feelings for the brunette were definitely more than a surface attraction, and going by the look in Lucy's eyes, the brunette's ran deeper as well. There was only way this could end, and that was in disaster.

Seeing the scared look in the blonde's eyes, and her indecisive features, Lucy only held on tighter, not willing to let her go. "C'mere," she whispered as she urged Amy closer, while rising slightly to meet her half way and crushed her lips against hers.

Amy whimpered against Lucy's lips, and despite her fears didn't hesitate to let her in when Lucy's tongue brushed passed her lips. Even though her rational mind knew this was going to end badly, she couldn't seem to stop herself. Lucy kissed her deeply, it was fueled with need, desire and the overwhelming urge to possess and something else Lucy couldn't, or didn't want to identify. What she did know was that it felt right and it made her heart race and the butterflies in her stomach flutter. She hadn't felt this way since…

She quickly backed away from those thoughts, knowing that the last time she felt them, nothing good came from it and knowing nothing good would come from it now. When it was all said and done, Lucy knew that she'd inevitably be alone again.

Both girls pulled away at the same time, breathing hard and chests heaving. Lucy flopped back against the bed with a sigh and a heavy heart and Amy soon followed and took up her prior position against the girl's side, making Lucy immediately wrap her arm around her again.

Even though Amy knew she was physically attracted to Lucy, she was sure she wasn't ready for things to escalate further; it would bring about more complications than she already had where her feelings were concerned. However, she did know that she enjoyed being in Lucy's arms. Despite the danger and uncertainty constantly surrounding them, she somehow felt safe and it's where she wanted to stay.

Lucy blew out a heavy sigh and turned her head away and gazed up towards the ceiling. She was desperately trying to get her out of control libido in order and will her heart rate to slow down. It was as if they were in a race to see which would kill her first.

"Okay enough of the…heavy, stuff," no pun intended Lucy thought, "How about we stick to something simple. Like….when's your birthday?" Lucy changed the subject, the emotion laden atmosphere getting to be too much for her. She was still feeling a bit off kilter from her earlier breakdown, and now this. She definitely needed something else to occupy her mind.

"September 12," Amy answered.

"A Virgo…figures," Lucy said with a chuckle.

Amy sat up a little to look at Lucy, "And just what does that mean?"

"Nothing," Lucy said with a shrug, "from what I know about you, it just fits." Upon seeing Amy's skeptical look she added with another chuckle, "Seriously, I didn't mean anything by it and it's in about another month or so, in fact it's around the trip to Vegas so we'll have to do something special while we're there."

Satisfied with the answer, Amy settled back down. Even though Amy wasn't aware of how much time she had left with Lucy, she was pleased to know that Lucy seemed to be planning a future for them; one she knew could never really exist. Still though, she could dream.

"What year?" Lucy asked next.

"84," the blonde replied.

"Ah, the older woman. That's kinda hot," Lucy teased as she nudged Amy a little.

Amy laughed at the statement, "Yeah? When's yours," she asked, but having already known the answer. After all, all the basic info there was to know about the notorious diamond thief was filed away in a folder she had on the girl.

"April 15…85," Lucy added before the question could be answered.

Amy laughed again. "Okay so that makes me what," the blonde did the calculation in her head, "a whole 7 months older than you?"

"Something like that, but older nonetheless.

"Right," Amy said with a smile, "I feel like I'm robbing the cradle here," she added playfully.

"Well I promise not to tell if you don't" Lucy smirked after hearing the blonde's laughter again. "Okay then," she continued, "Favorite color?"

When she didn't get an immediate response Lucy tilted her head back to the side to look at the blonde. Amy was staring at the ceiling, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth, clearly deep in thought.

Lucy chuckled softly. "Okay so I thought that was going to be a simple question, clearly I was wrong."

Hearing the brunette speak Amy shook her head slightly and turned to look at her, her expression slightly bashful. "Sorry, it's just that every color is so unique in its own way, and to pick an absolute favorite, devoid of context or mood is just hard. Like if I could only see one color for the rest of my life what would I want that color to be."

Lucy had been set to tease the blonde, but hearing her response, and seeing that she was absolutely serious about it she couldn't bring herself to do so. "I don't think I have ever seen someone give the question that much thought. You obviously attach great meaning to the subject."

Amy averted her eyes slightly. She had expected the brunette to make fun of her; that was usually what happened with Max when she started to talk about anything art related. "I do. Probably ever since I would spend hours and hours creating what I was convinced were masterpieces on this little easel set my parents bought me when I was six."

Lucy grinned faintly, the mental image of the determined blonde child staring intently at her canvas, bottom lip firmly clenched between her teeth, as she contemplated the finishing touches to her latest creation. "So your fridge must have been the most decorated in the neighborhood."

Amy chuckled and nodded her head. "Oh yeah, the fridge, the stove, the microwave, the hallway, no flat surface was safe."

"So what happened? Why are you not headlining some gallery show? I know you're talented enough," Lucy questioned curiously. She knew that the blonde had applied to art school, but not the reason that she had decided to pursue life as a D.E.B. instead. To Lucy's way of thinking, the two career paths couldn't have been more opposite.

Amy sent the brunette a warm smile. "Well thank you for the vote of confidence, but I'm not sure I was ever going to be that good."

Lucy shook her head, now willing to accept the blonde's self doubt. "I've seen what you can accomplish with the rather crude tool of an airbrush. I'm sure whatever you could accomplish with a canvas would be nothing short of spectacular. Surely being in L.A. painting cars and moonlighting at illegal street races isn't what you really see yourself doing, is it?"

Amy felt a blush once again stain her cheeks, no one had shown that much belief in her artwork since her parents died, and the feeling of support was welcome after all this time. "I applied to art school actually," Amy finally confessed.

"Really?" Lucy replied, feigning surprise. "Why didn't you go? I'm sure you must have gotten in."

Amy nodded her head. "I did, but life just got in the way I guess."

Lucy could hear the melancholy tone in the blonde's voice, and part of her wanted to just let the subject drop, she had never meant a simple question like what's your favorite color to turn into such a heavy conversation. Her curiosity about the agent, and her genuine desire to know her better won out. "How so?"

"My parent's died," Amy replied a half apologetic smile quirking her lips as she met the brunette's gaze; she knew that Lucy had wanted to steer the subject away from the topic of dead parents.

Lucy cursed herself internally and furrowed her brows. "Shit, I'm sorry."

Amy waved her free hand dismissively and dropped it back to Lucy's stomach where she began drawing invisible patterns over her shirt. "It's okay. After they died things like eating and finding a way to keep a roof over my head took precedence over painting. I got into a few other good schools as well, but even with a scholarship and with the money that was left from my parent's insurance settlement, I knew it wouldn't be enough. The house was foreclosed on and I needed to pick a school a.s.a.p., or live my life in the biggest card box I could find." Amy smiled ruefully at this.

With a sigh, she continued. "So I choose community college instead and eventually had to find an apartment. It's how I met Max, we became roommates. She was into the racing scene, and once she saw that I was good with 'car science' and that I was a cheaper and quicker alternative to getting her car visually ready to be put back on the street, I kinda just fell into it." Amy shrugged. "She eventually asked me to start navigating for her with the higher dollar races that had you blindly maneuvering the course and the rest is history."

Amy glossed over the real truth just a bit. There was no way that she could tell her that months before graduating, she had been approached by Mr. Phipps, informing her that she had scored crazy high on some secret test in the SAT and asked if she would like to pursue a career in law enforcement and serve her county at the same time. At the time, it wasn't an option. Her parents were adamant about her following her dreams to be an artist and anything else was unacceptable.

"Do you still paint? Or draw?" Lucy asked, genuinely interested.

Amy shrugged. "Sure, I mean cars count right?"

Lucy shook her head. "While the work you do on the cars is commendable, something tells me that's not quite the same thing for you." Seeing the blonde bob her head slightly in agreement with that statement, Lucy released her hold on the blonde's hand and rolled on to her side. Propping herself up on one arm she rested her face in the hand that had been holding Amy's and rested her other on the blonde's hip. It was partly to keep herself from rolling all the way over onto the agent, and partly just to finally get her hands on another part of the blonde's incredible body.

"Once the Vegas race is done we should take some time off, just you and me and some painting supplies. We can go where favorite colors don't matter and you can paint the world how you see fit." Lucy grinned down at the blonde, clearly taken with her idea.

"Well I did always want to go to Spain. I actually got accepted into a school in Barcelona. I never told my parents though because I knew it was a dream we couldn't afford to entertain. I know they wanted me to be happy, even if it meant them making sacrifices. It was something I couldn't let them do, they were still a healthy, young couple and there were still things I know they wanted to do. So, sending me to Spain and making my life better would've definitely put a damper on theirs."

Lucy's heart soared at the selflessness of the blonde. Most teenagers wouldn't give a second thought about how their parents would live or if they were giving up their lives to make their own better. She couldn't have asked for a better person to come into her life. Actually she could have, it'd be the same person lying beside her without the complications of being a D.E.B.

Despite the lifestyle difference and a looming 25 to life Amy was trying to throw at her, Lucy couldn't help but want to make all of Amy's dreams come true. She had to reason that it was partly due to the fact that her mother was an artist and she saw how happy and at peace she was when she was painting or drawing. Lucy knew that even if she hadn't taken much of an interest in her mother's hobby, she loved that it made her happy and she wanted to see that same light in Amy's eyes.

"So Barcelona it is," Lucy relished. "We'll leave as soon as things settle after the race. While you're painting your little heart out, I can…I don't know, set up a shop on the pier and rent sailboats to tourists." Lucy threw out there. "Or," Lucy said animatedly, "I could just buy a ship and become a pirate, you know….get away from the wicked criminal ways of business dealings and we could sail the seas and you could navigate me to whenever you wanted to paint." She finished with a brilliant, excited grin in place.

Amy took note of the words Lucy used when she described what she did, and instead of filing it away as a possible lead to probe the girl about what she did for a living other than illegal racing, she instead decided to ignore it and tease the girl instead.

"Pirates are criminals," Amy pointed out as she hid her amusement.

Lucy looked thoughtful for a moment before a small frown crossed her features. "Oh," was all she said before looking over at Amy with a little shrug. "Well we could still do it; you'd just have to make sure you kept me honest."

Amy smiled affectionately up at the brunette, pleased with her clear enthusiasm for her idea. "That sounds lovely." And it did sound lovely. The blonde's smile dimmed and she sighed when she realized that as lovely as it may sound it was never something she was going to be able to actually do.

Her life as a government agent would never allow her to run off with a criminal, no matter how badly she wanted too. Even if she could somehow make Lucy's words mean something and could keep her honest, she had a feeling it still wouldn't be enough. Her past, her families past and Amy being an agent would always keep them out of reach to each other.

Seeing the blonde's clouded expression Lucy reached up and brushed her fingers through the hair at the other woman's temple, leaving her hand lightly cupping Amy's neck. "What's wrong? Do you not want to go?"

Amy shook off her maudlin thoughts and managed to give Lucy a weak smile as her mind scrambled for a plausible excuse for her turn in mood. "No, it's not that," she reached up and took Lucy's hand into her own. "I would love to go, especially with you," she said truthfully, "but you just got back, are you going to be able to be away again so soon?"

Lucy grinned impishly. "I'm the boss, I get to do what I want when I want, one of the perks of the job. And since you kinda work for me too, I'm ordering you to take some time off with me once the race is done. And if that other boss of yours at the garage gives you shit about it, I'll just have to buy the place and give you time off there too."

Amy shook her head affectionately at the brunette's persistence. "Well I guess that's settled then," she said through laughter. Even though she knew it was impossible, she couldn't help but be impressed and fall just a little harder at the other girls' encouragement to follow her dream. It all made her sad again and not wanting to dwell on a trip she knew she was never going to be able to take, Amy thought it was time to get back to the questions at hand. "Favorite color?"

Lucy smirked. "Easy, black."

Amy rolled her eyes playfully. "I guess I really should have figured that, I don't think I have actually seen you wear anything else."

Lucy quirked her eyebrow playfully. "Well play your cards right and you won't have to worry yourself with seeing me in anything."

Amy swallowed, finding her mouth suddenly dry at the image of a nude Lucy. "I'll definitely keep that in mind." And she did, in fact, she think it was permanently etched into her brain now.

Lucy grinned down at her. "Good."

Amy unconsciously licked her lips, desperately trying to get her mind back on the conversation and off of the tantalizing array of mental images that wanted to intrude since the brunette's innuendo laden statement. "So you now know that I have aspiring dreams of being an artist, what about you, Lucy? What do you dream of?"

Lucy blew out a breath and flopped back down onto her back, folding both hands across her stomach. "You know, I don't know if I ever really gave it much thought. Being an only child, I always knew I would be expected to take over the family business one day."

It was Amy's turn to roll onto her side to gaze down at the brunette. "Do you enjoy it?" It was more than just idle curiosity that made Amy ask the question. A part of her, the part of her that was undeniably drawn to the enigmatic brunette, needed to understand how she could be drawn to someone that seemed to share very few of her core beliefs.

Lucy furrowed her brows, clearly giving the question some serious thought. "There are parts of it I love. Ever since I was a kid I have been fascinated by the cars my dad collected. So being able to own them and race them like I do is definitely a dream come true." Lucy paused briefly before shrugging her shoulders. "Other parts of it I do because I have to, and it's not that I hate getting to boss around a slew of people and making myself wealthy," she said with a half grin that quickly disappeared, " but I do it more because I'm expected to, rather than because I really have a love for it you know?"

Amy had been hoping for more of a revelation from the brunette; though she supposed that it wasn't really realistic for Lucy to suddenly declare that she hated her life of crime and wanted to give it all up. Especially seeing that since the brunette didn't technically know that Amy knew the full extent of her illegal dealings.

Amy groaned internally. _God why does this all have to be so damn complicated, why couldn't I have met her under normal circumstances where we would be free to explore this thing between us without out the threat of her in handcuffs looming between us. _Amy bit her lip thoughtfully. _Although that doesn't sound entirely bad. I could get her some diamond studded cuffs, I'm sure that'd get a rise out of her._

Realizing that Lucy was looking at her expectantly, Amy reluctantly shook off the mental image of Lucy handcuffed to a bed and entirely at her mercy out of her head and redirected her attention to the other woman. "Right, I totally know what you mean. There are definitely aspects of my job that I really like." _Like getting the chance to meet you. "_And parts of it that I do because it's expected of me." _Like just about every other aspect of my job.  
_

"So why not quit?" Lucy asked, knowing full well that Amy wasn't talking about her alter ego painter's job. "Just walk away."

"I can't just walk away…it's, complicated." Amy frowned, thinking of the implications of "just walking away." She wasn't even sure what it would entail, but she was sure Ms. Petrie and the other big Whigs in the organization wouldn't just allow their pride and joy to just walk out on them.

"It's not complicated or at least it shouldn't be. Look, I know you're good at what you do and they probably want to keep the best, but I'm sure your boss could get someone in replace you. You shouldn't be stuck in a job you don't want to be in, or one that doesn't make you happy." Lucy became well aware of the fact that she was now talking about Amy's life as a D.E.B. "You should do what you love." She said sincerely as she gazed into the blonde's eyes.

Amy leaned forward and propped herself up on her elbows looking down at the brunette, wondering just how serious she was. "Why would you do this Lucy? Why is what I do so important to you?"

Lucy mirrored Amy's position and reached out, cupping the blonde's cheek before smoothing her hand down the side of her neck. "Because you have dreams Amy, real dreams, and I want to be the one who helps you make them come true."

Amy's eyes filled with tears at the statement, she was so happy in this moment that she wanted to cry. No potential mate had ever taken interest in what she wanted to do with her life. Even when she and Bobby dated, she got the feeling that he was only interested in the fact that she scored a perfect score on the secret test. "The Government's power couple" is what he would refer to them as; he'd never encouraged her to paint; he only told her that her "little hobby" was a distraction from her real natural talent as an agent.

Feeling overwhelmed, Amy pushed against Lucy's chest to encourage her to lie back while she covered the brunette's body with her own. Lucy instinctively groaned, and as if of their own accord, her hands slid down over the pert, leather covered backside she'd wanted to get her hands on since she'd first laid eyes on it. Not stopping there, Lucy's hands found the bare flesh of Amy's thigh and she squeezed slightly.

Amy moaned at the touch. Lucy's hands were hot on her and she wanted them everywhere at once. She leaned in and crushed her lips against the brunette's in a hot opened mouth kiss, her tongue plunging inside. Lucy's own tongue met it eagerly as they dueled for dominance.

Amy shifted on top of Lucy to get herself into a more pleasurably position. With Lucy's roaming hands to help, the skirt had now been pushed to a position that allowed Amy to move her legs freely and she moved one so that her thigh was pressed expertly against Lucy's center while she was in a straddle position against Lucy's thigh.

The girls broke their kiss, moans tearing from both of them that left them gasping for air. Lucy's hands had now travelled under the skirt and were cupping Amy's panty clad ass and from the blonde's position straddling her thigh, she could feel just how hot Amy was. She squeezed Amy's ass lightly before she pushed down against it and flexed her thigh, sending pleasurably friction straight to the blonde's core.

Amy cried out and her head fell forward into the crook of Lucy's neck. Her breathing came in harsh pants and she grasped at the material of the brunette's shirt. Lucy repeated the action, making the blonde cry out again, this time directly into Lucy's ear and if she wasn't turned on enough, that sent her over the edge.

Lucy made an attempt to unzip the skirt Amy was wearing, but as if broken out of a haze, Amy's hand reached behind her to stop Lucy's progress. She looked up, still panting and trying to catch her breath, and looked down into desire filled eyes.

Lucy leaned up to capture Amy's lips again, this time being stopped by the blonde pulling back slightly. "What's wrong?" Lucy asked confusion etched in her beautiful face.

"Uh…I just, um," Amy was at a lost for what to say. Things had gotten out of control so fast and even though she was enjoying it immensely, she knew she couldn't allow this to happen. Not only would it go against a prime directive, but she knew that it'd cross a professional line she knew she was already straddling. If she allowed herself to go all the way with Lucy Diamond, then she was as good as gone and there would be no turning back for her. She wanted this girl, god did she want her and that's what made stopping all the more difficult.

"Have you ever done this before?" Lucy inquired, wanting to know why the sudden change when things were going so well.

Amy looked confused and replied slightly miffed, "I'm not a virgin, Lucy."

Lucy chuckled and a smirk crossed her lips. "Oh believe me, I didn't think you were."

Said with a certainty and an air of cockiness, it offended Amy even more and she rolled her eyes and moved off of Lucy. "I'm not a whore either."

It was Lucy's turn to look confused and she rolled on her side to face the blonde. "That's not what I meant either!"

"Okay then, just what the hell _do_ you mean?" Amy asked hotly. She was turned on beyond belief having to put a stop to hers and Lucy's action frustrated her immensely. Lucy's line of questioning didn't help either; in fact it was pissing her off. But what pissed her off even more was how much being pissed at Lucy made her want her that much more.

"I was asking if you'd ever done this with another woman before. Then I could understand your hesitancy about it is all," Lucy explained, not wanting the blonde to feel uncomfortable.

"Oh." Amy had the decency to look ashamed and her already flushed skin turned impossibly redder.

When she didn't get answer, Lucy nudged her. "Well," she waited expectantly.

"I have," Amy confessed quietly. "You know people get a little experimental in college." Amy said as a way of explanation. It was the only time she'd ever told someone, although Max suspected she never flat out admitted that she knew. Amy knew it was because she wasn't ready to deal with it openly and verbally. She figured that Max thought if she didn't have to talk about it, it wouldn't exist. When Lucy didn't make any comment about her answer, Amy spared a glance at her. She had a faraway look in her eyes, as if there was some type of storm brewing.

Amy opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but Lucy spoke instead, and when she did it only served to confuse Amy even further.

"So, I guess it's because of the boyfriend then," Lucy said disdainfully.

"What?" Amy asked as she sat back up.

"It's because of Bobby, right?"

"What's Bobby? What the hell does he have to do with this?"

Lucy sat up too, but pulled herself into a standing position and began pacing a bit at the foot of the bed. She'd tried to ignore the details of why she'd run out on the party earlier. Seeing Amy with her meathead boyfriend had been too much for her and she wasn't going to sit around while he drooled all over her.

After their talk earlier, the problem just seemed to ebb away and it was something she didn't want to deal with after they'd seemingly made some sort of progress towards getting to know each other. But now, with the blonde putting a halt on things, things that _she_ had started by the way with no explanation, Lucy knew there had to be only one reason why. Amy didn't want to be a cheater. Commendable, sure. Unlucky for her? Damn right it was!

Amy sat up on her knees in the bed and reached out to grab Lucy's arm to stop her from pacing. When the brunette pulled her arm away, Amy felt hurt by the girl's shun. "Lucy will you please tell me what's wrong? And what does Bobby have to do with any of this?"

Lucy stopped her pacing and looked at the blonde for a long, silent moment, and asked a question that had been weighing on her mind. "Why did you follow me tonight?" At first Lucy had been surprised that Amy had followed her after the brunette's blatant brush off. Once her surprised had waned she had figured that the agent had done it simply to keep an eye on her, but the more she thought about it the less that made sense.

She couldn't imagine it was standard procedure to run off after one of the most wanted criminals in the country with no back up, and clearly unarmed. Lucy had given the blonde a very thorough pat down in her groping efforts and if the blonde had a weapon hidden Lucy would love to know where and how.

"Why did you run?" Amy countered, evading the question.

"I didn't run," Lucy protested. "I concluded my business and decided it was time to leave."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Well, whatever you want to call it, why did you suddenly decide you couldn't get out of there fast enough?" Amy reached out and stroked her hand lightly down the brunette's arm. "I thought we had come to an understanding of sorts earlier and just now, _especially_just now and then you just seemed to have suddenly flipped a switch tonight. You just seem to be running hot and cold and I can't really figure it out." Amy withdrew her hand suddenly, and even though she was mad, Lucy immediately felt the loss. "Or maybe I'm just not taking the hint? I don't want to be that clueless girl that doesn't realize when she isn't wanted. Oh god," Amy said in horror, "am I really being that girl?"

Lucy reached out and grasped Amy's hand before the blonde could move to get off the bed. "No, that's not what it is." Seeing the agent's still doubtful look Lucy let out and aggrieved sigh. "Look, just then when you stopped…it's just…I got kinda pissed I guess."

"I'm sorry," Amy said, feeling her heart sink from the prospective that Lucy had gotten pissed because she wouldn't have sex with her. _Is that really all she wants? _The blonde questioned and when Lucy didn't say anything, it pissed her off even more. "Okay? I'm sorry Lucy. I'm sorry that you're mad that I won't put out for you." Amy put it out there bitterly and condescendingly.

Lucy shook her head, even though she was mad about the whole situation, she wasn't necessarily mad that Amy wouldn't sleep with her. It was the reason why she wouldn't, which meant she shouldn't even have come home with her in the first place. Now Lucy was pissed. Again.

"Oh please, don't flatter yourself sweetheart, you can be replaced within the minute." This caused Amy to scoff and made her want to smack the cocksure brunette, but more importantly the comment had cut her deeper than she imagined it could and before she could come up with some type of defense, Lucy continued. "I'm not pissed that you won't sleep with me, I'm fucking pissed that you won't or more accurately you can't because you're fucking that meathead Bobby!"

Amy blinked several times as Lucy's comment sunk into her head; that comment coupled with the one about Bobby earlier made the proverbial light bulb go off in the blonde's head. She watched the brunette start to pace again and this time she got off the bed and stood in front of Lucy to get her attention.

Lucy rolled her eyes and tried to move around her, but Amy caught Lucy's face in her palms. Then she broke it down for the fuming brunette. "Listen to me, because you obviously weren't the first time I told you this. Bobby and I are over. There is absolutely nothing going on between the two of us. I am not sleeping with him, nor do I want too. Okay? God Lucy where you would get such a silly idea from."

Lucy only scowled more deeply at the blonde's flippant response. "Gee _babe_ I don't know," Lucy replied sarcastically, stressing the D.H.S agents term of endearment for the blonde.

Amy rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated huff. "I told you there is nothing going on with me and Bobby. He just has a hard time getting that through his head. Lucy, I swear to you nothing is going on with Bobby and I." Amy pleaded and she took a step towards the girl.

Lucy looked at the blonde suspiciously and took a step away. "You keep saying that, but every time I turn around there he is, usually with his paws all over you, and I haven't exactly seen you protesting, especially tonight. And I didn't like it." She hated admitting any kind of weakness and in her book jealousy was definitely not a strong suit. By telling Amy that she was less than pleased with her and Bobby's interactions she was giving the blonde power over her.

"God Lucy we were just talking, nothing happened."

Lucy scoffed. "I didn't like it," she reiterated.

"And you don't have too, but I can assure you there has been much protesting on my end. I just haven't felt the need to make a big scene every time he approaches me. I don't want to embarrass myself with the spectacle I know it'll turn into. But If I did, would it make you feel better?" Amy looked at the still pouting brunette, one eyebrow quirked in half amusement, half challenge. She had to admit, that jealous, possessive Lucy was hot.

Lucy tilted her head to the side and met the blonde's gaze. "It might," she grudgingly conceded. She hated feeling this insecure and angst ridden over the blonde's interactions with Bobby, but every time she saw the two of them together, her mind immediately conjured up the worst case scenario. That the two of them were still together and secretly laughing over her lovesick advances in private, or worse, with all their law enforcement buddies.

"What would be an acceptable means of conveying this message to him, in the most public and obvious way possible?" Amy asked, her tone light and teasing but still genuinely concerned with pleasing the obviously bristled brunette.

Lucy appeared to ponder the question for several moments. "A kick in the balls?" she finally responded questioningly, only half joking.

Amy laughed and shook her head at the suggestion. "I could do that," she responded playfully, "or I could do something that we both might find more enjoyable."

Lucy met the blonde's gaze, which suddenly seemed much closer than moments before. "More enjoyable than kicking Bobby in the balls?" she asked, intrigued.

Amy pursed her lips, doing her best to keep a straight face and not laugh at the brunette's earnest sounding question. "Well I certainly hope so," she responded, closing the remaining distance between them and kissing the brunette lightly on the lips. Amy pulled back and licked her lips. "Wasn't that more enjoyable?" she asked with a smirk, biting her lower lip lightly.

Lucy ran her tongue over her teeth, and after a brief moment of thought, nodded her head. "It was, but I'm not sure it would be sufficient to dissuade Bobby."

"Really? I thought it was pretty convincing, but what did you have in mind?"

"He's pretty thick," Lucy replied seriously, reaching up grasping the back of Amy's neck lightly. "So I think he might need a more…involved demonstration."

"Any more involved then it's going to turn into a threesome, and I'm sure that's _not_ what you had in mind." Amy laughed.

"Oh hell no!" Lucy protested. "If I have to watch anyone touching you in a more _involved_ nature, it's going to be after we've videotaped ourselves," she finished with a sly grin. Amy blushed at the idea, but wasn't exactly opposed to it. Feeling better about the whole Bobby situation, she laid her hands on Amy's hip and kissed her gently. "You should know, even as a kid I never liked to share."

Amy rolled her eyes playfully. "That must've made you popular in the sandbox with all the other kids."

Lucy chuckled. "Are you kidding, my dad _owned_ the sandboxes so I didn't have to share."

Amy only shook her head in amusement, but then a thought occurred to her. "You know, I don't really like to share either."

"Yeah?"

"Yep. And from the looks of it, neither does Riley." Amy said with a challenging brow. One that indicated Lucy should know where she was going with this.

The brunette could only sigh at the mention of her ex's name. "Amy, I've already explained to you that Riley and I have been over for a long time." Amy stood silently, taking in what Lucy was saying and nodded dutifully. "She…she's just convinced that we still have another chance but I've told her that it's not gonna happen, okay. I've told _you_ that Riley and I aren't gonna happen."

Amy only nodded again and tilted her head to the ceiling slightly and tapped finger against her lips as if she was thinking. She finally looked back to Lucy. "So what you're saying is you have an ex that you've told it's over but she can't seem to get it through her thick skull that it really is. To an onlooker one would probably think you two were still together, right?"

Lucy opened her mouth to say something but Amy continued on from the rhetorical question. "Because seriously, if I had to witness the two of you walking away while holding hands to talk 'privately'," Amy used air quotes when she said the word, "I'd definitely say that would look like something a couple would do. _Or_ if I just happened to show up at your place, by invitation of course, and saw the two of you leaving your office like you just had the best sex of your life I'd _definitely_ think something was up. Let me know if any of this sounds about right, Lucy."

"Okay, okay…I get your point and I'm sorry okay."

"Are you?" Amy asked, wanting to be sure.

"Yes, I am," Lucy assured. "We obviously hooked up with the two most stubborn people on the planet that can't take "it's over" seriously." Lucy pointed out. "And I'm sorry I yelled at you and said what I said about replacing you. My temper gets the best of me sometimes and it seems to be doing that a lot lately whenever I see someone ogling someone I want."

Amy's smile brightly and wrapped her arms around Lucy's neck, while pulling her body flush against her. She tilted her head to the side teasingly and asked, "You want me to be your girl?"

"Well shit isn't it obvious?" Lucy told her, trying to sound annoyed but was amused at the blonde's antics.

"Tell me," Amy demanded as she played with the hair at the back of Lucy's neck. Even though she knew it could never be true, part of her desperately wanted to hear the brunette claim her as her own.

"Tell you?" Lucy asked incredulously. "What are we twelve?"

Amy began to pout and pull out of the embrace. "Alright alright," Lucy conceded, pulling the blonde back against her with a grin. And even though she knew she shouldn't have, she placed her thumb and forefinger on Amy's chin to tilt her head to look directly into her eyes and got serious. "I want you to be my girl, Amy Bradshaw. Will you be mine?"

Amy smiled so wide her cheeks started to hurt; she cupped Lucy's face in her hands and kissed her deeply. After a few hot seconds, she pulled back slightly. "You should already know, I was yours from the moment we met," she said softly, meaning every word.

Lucy nodded approvingly. "I like that," she said as she shifted their position so that now Amy's back was facing the bed. Lucy gave her a little nudge and the blonde fell back against the bed with a squeal. Lucy crawled up the bed to lie on top of Amy and kissed her feverishly. When both girls pulled back they were breathing heavily and trying to catch their breath.

Lucy grinned her thousand watt grin, the one that never failed to make Amy swoon, her hand going to the hem of Amy's skirt. "Now…what were you saying about getting rid of this later."

Amy's hand was quick to reach out and grasp the brunette's wandering digits. "Lucy I'm still not ready," Amy replied apologetically and she worried her bottom lip.

Lucy dropped her head down to rest on the blonde's shoulder, her body sagging, pinning the other girl more firmly to the mattress. "Right," she said nodding her head slightly but quickly lifted it. "And I'm not mad. I promise. It's just…," Lucy pulled back slightly and racked her eyes over Amy's body, "it's just that you're so fucking hot, I just got caught up in the moment."

Amy brought her hands up to stroke the brunette's back soothingly. "Well trust me, it's not because I don't want too. It's just that I think it's a little too soon, you know?" She asked, hoping the brunette would understand.

"Yeah baby, I get it." Lucy leaned in and kissed her softly. "Whenever you're ready." Lucy said truthfully, but still she was frustrated that for another night she would not be getting any. "Guess this means I should probably get you home then." Lucy said with a sigh and begrudgingly started to pull away.

Amy grabbed her forearms to stop her moments. "Actually, I don't think you should be driving. You've been drinking and it could be dangerous." Amy said honestly, and even though she knew Max was probably wearing a hole in their already worn carpet, she knew all too well about the dangers of drinking and driving and didn't want to risk it.

Lucy frowned slightly, "It wasn't _that_ much, I'm fine."

"Will you just trust me on this?" Amy asked sincerely.

"Yeah," Lucy nodded then smiled. "I didn't really want you to go anyway.

Amy returned the smile. "Good, because I wasn't in any hurry to leave you, but um…maybe I should stay in another room or something," Amy offered, not feeling right about sleeping in the same bed with Lucy when she wasn't going to be able to give her what she was seeking.

Lucy immediately lifted her head and looked down at Amy with a frown. "Don't be silly. I have this nice big bed that will more than fit the both of us."

"It just seems cruel to stay in here when I know I can't give you what you want." Amy explained.

"Well you _could,"_Lucy teased.

"Lucy," Amy reprimanded lightly.

"I know, I know," Lucy said contritely. "But really, you can stay in here with me. I promise I'll be good." The last part said mockingly. "Let me just get you something to change in to and then we can go to bed." Seeing the blonde's doubtful look Lucy hastened to add, "To sleep. Just to sleep."

"If you're sure," Amy replied, the question being conveyed in her tone.

"I'm sure," Lucy replied with a nod, and to her surprise she meant it. She usually wasn't one for one night stands, she left that up to Dominique, the expert, but a girl did have needs after all. When she did feel the need for some release, generally she had never been one to encourage overnight guests and usually her bedmates were sent on their way as soon as she was done. However, to her surprise she found that even if she all she could do was share a bed with the blonde, she was happy with that. After all, there was the possibility of a little hot and heavy make out session.

Lucy reluctantly pulled herself away from the blonde and padded over to her dresser and rummaged through it to find a shirt and a pair of shorts for Amy to wear. After she found some suitable bed attire for her, she turned around and tossed it over to her.

Amy stood with the clothes in her grasped, while once again pulling at the hem of her skirt. As she headed to the bathroom, she eyed the huge grin Lucy was sporting and narrowed her eyes at the grinning girl. "What?" She asked, wanting to know what the brunette found so amusing.

Lucy chuckled slightly and with a shrug she said, "I knew I'd get you out of that damn skirt one way or the other."


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Nope you're not seeing things it is an actual update. We know we suck on the update front, and we are very appreciative of all of you out there that continue to stick with us and prompt us for updates.**

**Besides general laziness/short attention span, one of the hurdles we were having was figuring out some of the finer details on one of the more crucial plot points (yeah we know we should have nailed it down before starting but as the fic evolved it kinda outgrew the early outline) but that has now been resolved so it should hopefully smooth(er) sailing from here on out.**

**This chapter is largely due to Captain A, who turned into the little fanfic writer that could and just kept churning on this chapter. I wish I could say I helped but...not so much.**

**Hope you enjoy the update.**

**Captain B(een Slacking)**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

_After they each took a quick turn in the bathroom, the pair finally settled into bed, lying awkwardly next to each other. Amy had taken up position in the middle of the California king, while Lucy had remained firmly attached to the edge; a safe, respectable distance between her and the enticing blonde. The only sound that could be heard was the occasional heavy sigh that Lucy would emit and the constant shuffling of the sheets as she moved around trying to get comfortable._

_"Are you always this restless," Amy asked quietly, her voice breaking the uneasy silence that had blanketed the room when she felt the bed move again from Lucy trying to find a suitable position._

_Lucy sighed and then chuckled softly. "No, but it kind of puts me on edge when I have a gorgeous woman in my bed that I'm not allowed to touch."_

_"I never said you couldn't touch me," Amy whispered, her hand reaching out for contact with her suddenly stiff as a board bedmate. "Now get over here," she instructed, finding Lucy's hand and tugging at it until Lucy finally relented and turned towards her and moved to the middle of the bed._

_"You never said it, but I'm afraid I won't be responsible for my actions if I do," the brunette answered honestly, knowing that if she was allowed to touch the blonde intimately in any way, she would want to take things further._

_Lucy felt Amy release the hold on her hand and slowly trail it up and down the bare flesh of her arm. It made her shudder and caused goose bumps to form under the warm hand that was softly caressing her. Lucy felt the movement in the bed as Amy shuffled even closer, the blonde's hand skimming over her tense shoulder and trailing a slow path up to caress her cheek. Amy was so close now that Lucy could feel the heat of her warm body and breath mingling with her own._

_"How about you let me take responsibility for your actions and you can concentrate on getting comfortable with me being in your bed," Amy whispered against Lucy's lips before moving in to capture them in a brief, reassuring kiss while her hand slipped down and around to the back of Lucy's neck and massaged it tenderly._

_Lucy's eyes slipped closed and she took a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to slow down her rapidly beating heart, but with the blonde so close and caressing her, she knew it was futile. The darkness that surrounded them didn't allow for sight, but what eyes couldn't see, hands could feel and Lucy tentatively reached out and ran a hand along Amy's side causing the fabric of the borrowed shirt to rise slightly._

_Never one to not take advantage of an advantageous situation, Lucy's hand found its way to Amy's flesh and she lightly trailed her fingers along the smooth skin until the flat of her palm rested against Amy's back. She took in another deep breath and let out an involuntary moan from Amy's gentle touch._

_"Is that your way of saying you want to be in my bed more often?" the brunette whispered as her fingertips lightly kneaded into soft skin._

_"As often as you'll let me be," Amy replied instantly as she continued to caress Lucy's slender neck._

_Lucy bit back the urge to tell the blonde that she should just go ahead and move in. She could use the constant companionship and the advantage of an in-house bedmate was never a bad thing. However, she knew that was a can of worms that she shouldn't even think about, let alone consider opening, because not only would she be opening up her home to a D.E.B, it essentially meant she'd be opening up her heart as well. It was bad enough that she found herself constantly thinking about the girl and wanting to be with her every minute of the day. She knew that if she wasn't careful, she could easily find herself doing something she had sworn she would never do again. Fall in love._

_So instead of thinking about what could never be, Lucy focused on the hand that was softly kneading the back of her neck and causing all the tension she was feeling to melt away and be replaced with a more primal need._

_"That feels good," Lucy sighed out, her voice thick with desire. She could feel Amy's breath on her and she wanted to lean in and close the remaining few inches that separated them and take Amy's lips with her own, but in an effort to maintain control of herself and the situation, she took another deep breath and was content to let the soft touch of the blonde lull her to sleep._

_"Are you falling asleep on me?"_

_Lucy's eyes opened at the unexpected question. There had been a period of silence between them and in that time Amy's hand had stopped its soothing caress and had slid around and was resting against the side of Lucy's neck. Her breathing was even and she hadn't moved so Lucy was sure that the blonde agent had been about to fall asleep too as she snuggled in closer._

_"Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing?" Lucy questioned with a chuckle knowing that there were other things she could think of that they could be doing, but she didn't want to push after Amy had voiced her thoughts on it being "too soon" earlier._

_"I suppose," Amy replied with a shrug as her thumb started a slow back and forth motion against Lucy's neck._

_"You suppose?" Lucy repeated, sensing the blonde's hesitancy as she remained silent._

_"Well I don't know, but I didn't think we'd actually be sleeping right now," Amy said with another slight shrug._

_"Ooookay," Lucy said slowly wondering just what Amy had in mind if she didn't mean for them to actually be sleeping. "So what'd you have in mind?" Lucy voiced her thoughts as she slid her hand down and placed it on Amy's hip, her thumb moving in a back and forth motion over the fabric._

_Lucy felt more than heard the chuckle that emitted from Amy and knew she was presumptuous in assuming that maybe the blonde had changed her mind about it being too soon._

_"Well we've been doing…whatever it is we've been doing for a few weeks now and considering we've put an official title on what's going on between us, I just figured we could talk more. It just seems like everything has moved so fast and I feel we don't actually know a whole lot about each other and I'd definitely like to get to know you better," Amy explained._

_With her hand still resting against the blonde's hip, Lucy pressed her body impossibly closer against Amy's and slipped her thigh between her legs. "I'm sure I can think of something better for an official couple to be doing to get better acquainted." While she didn't want to push, Lucy figured a little nudge couldn't hurt._

_"I'm sure you could," Amy gasped slightly at the pleasant intrusion that had settled between her thighs, "but um…how about we stick with the talking for now."_

_Lucy groaned and slowly pulled herself away from the warm, enticing figure of her bedmate. She sat up and ran a hand over her face before she reached over and turned on the lamp. She looked down and watched as Amy blinked a few times trying to adjust her eyes to the sudden flood of light._

_"That didn't mean you had to move," Amy mumbled as she rubbed at her eyes._

_"If you actually had plans of getting any talking done then uh yeah, I did," Lucy said as she rubbed tiredly at her own eyes and stifled a yawn. "So…let's talk," she pointed to the prone figure next to her, "but next time we're doing something I want."_

_Amy laughed as she moved over and lay on her back with her head in Lucy's lap and looked up at her. "Deal," she agreed. "And see, we're already learning new things about each other," Amy told the pouting brunette._

_Lucy glanced down with a confused look. "New things?"_

_"Yes," Amy said with a playful grin, "I didn't realize you were such a brat and you're really cute when you pout."_

_Lucy narrowed her eyes at the girl lying in her lap and with the speed of cat she brought her hands down to Amy's side and started tickling her._

_"Say mercy," Lucy taunted._

_"Lucy!" Amy yelled through a fit of laughter as she squirmed and swatted at the brunette's hands. "Stop! Please, stop," she pleaded as she tried to grab Lucy's hands, but with her prone position and her constant movement it made it impossible for her to get the upper hand._

_"Say it!" the brunette insisted, continuing to torment the girl squirming under her._

_"No," Amy replied defiantly._

_Lucy finally relented when the she noticed the blonde becoming breathless and red faced from laughter. "Looks like I just found out something new as well."_

_"Yeah but you're not playing fair," Amy told her as she wiped at her face and struggled to catch her breath._

_"All's fair in love and war sweetheart," Lucy said as she ran a hand over Amy's head adoringly then realized a little too late what she'd said. Even though it was only a figure of speech, she definitely didn't want to be bringing up the 'L' word in any way shape or form. However, if Amy had noticed it, she definitely didn't comment on it or give any indication that she had._

_"So what are we supposed to be talking about?" Lucy asked, trying to deflect from her statement._

_"Doesn't matter," Amy replied absently after she'd gotten her breathing under control and reached for Lucy's free hand and interlaced their fingers. Her eyes remained glued to their joined hands as she idly toyed with Lucy's hand._

_Lucy looked down at the scene in front of her and noted just how comfortable and at ease she seemed with her professional nemesis. She couldn't help the small smile when she noticed the position they were in it was so couple-y. She moved her hand to brush aside a few errant strands of blonde hair on the blonde's cheek and took in the beautiful features of her…girlfriend. She was still adjusting to that reality._

_While nagging at the back of her mind was the knowledge that she and Amy could never actually be a real couple and that sooner or later it would all come crashing down; in this moment she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she allowed herself to believe that the gorgeous blonde goddess that was lying with her head in her lap was hers._

_"What?" Amy asked as she looked up to see Lucy smiling brilliantly down at her._

_"Nothing," she lied._

_"A smile like that doesn't constitute 'nothing' Lucy, tell me what you're thinking," Amy prodded._

_Lucy's smile grew wider and mischievous and she looked down at the blonde and raised a knowing brow._

_"Okay, so don't tell me…that transparent look on your face says it all," the agent laughed._

_"Heeey," Lucy complained, "I wasn't thinking about THAT…," she complained at the blonde's skeptical look but then rolled her eyes, "okay fine, maybe I was…but that wasn't the only thing," she pointed out. "I was also thinking about how beautiful you are."_

_"Oh you're smooth," Amy laughed but Lucy could see the slight tinge of red that crept along her cheeks from the compliment._

_"Oh c'mon, that wasn't a line…it's the truth, you really are beautiful," Lucy confessed, her expression softened as she gazed down at Amy and her fingertips continued their caress and traced over the beauty marks that graced the right side of the blonde's face. "I'm wondering how I got so lucky," she added in a whisper as she gazed down at Amy adoringly._

_The thought that luck had absolutely nothing to do with finding her new government issued girlfriend was fleeting as Lucy lost herself in the calm, seemingly glowing baby blue eyes that stared dreamily back at her._

_Amy sat up and turned more fully towards Lucy, cupping her face in her hands, she gazed affectionately back at the alleged thief before slowly leaning in. "And you're incredibly sweet," Amy whispered against Lucy's lips before pressing her own against them to plant a series of hot, opened mouth kisses on them before she let her tongue slide softly over Lucy's bottom lip._

_With a groan and a proverbial internal kick in her own ass, Lucy turned her head to kiss the inside of Amy's palm before removing the hand and kissing the back of it. She knew if things continued the way they were going, she'd probably offend the blonde with her ravenous nature. "I thought we were supposed to be talking," Lucy managed to say with a sly grin._

_"We are," Amy responded, her own eyes now opening as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth to fight off her own grin at being caught wanting to make out instead of talking as she suggested._

_"No, you're acting like you want to get me naked," Lucy said with a brilliant grin._

_"You're such a horn dog! Is that all you think about?" Amy asked through a bout of laughter and playfully slapped at Lucy's shoulder._

_"Of course not!" Lucy said, feigning offense and rubbing her shoulder. "I also think about getting you naked too," she finished, her grin getting wider._

_Amy rolled her eyes and scoffed playfully, "You're impossible."_

_"I'm human," Lucy retorted. "Plus you can't tell me that you don't think about it because if you do, I'll know you're lying."_

_Amy chuckled, "Of course I do, it's only natural…but my internal censor keeps me from blurting things like that out."_

_"Apparently my internal censor is broken then; it's quite possible it was fried to hell when we first met because you're the hottest thing I've ever laid eyes on." Lucy leaned in and placed a lingering kiss on Amy's lips, which was eagerly returned. She pulled back with a grin. "See…as long as I get to do that…there's nothing else going on up here," the brunette tapped her finger against her temple._

_Amy laid a hand over her face and laughed while shaking her head slightly and moved to mirror Lucy's position in the bed and sat back. She reached over and grabbed Lucy's hand and linked their fingers together again and rested them on her lap. "If I didn't find you utterly adorable I'd think you were probably the cheesiest person on the planet right now."_

_"Well that's just ridiculous, do you know every person on the planet?" Lucy challenged, a slight grin gracing her lips. "But okay…I'll stop. I won't project any more of my sexual urges or my irresistible charm onto you. I'll be good," the brunette promised with a dazzling smile and a slight squeeze of Amy's hand._

_"No you won't, but I appreciate the sentiment," Amy said with a laugh closing the distance between her and her incredibly sweet and corny girlfriend, cuddling into Lucy's side. She rested her head in the crook of the brunette's neck and smoothed her lips against the warm skin and wrapped her arm across Lucy's torso._

_"Can you blame me?" Lucy asked rhetorically. "You have amazing lips and I enjoy kissing them," she said almost breathless as she felt Amy's lips on her and her hot breath hitting the side of her neck, "and you being so close does things to me. What can I say; I'm deprived, so getting to touch any part of you makes me eager."_

_"Deprived?" Amy questioned, but it came out more disbelievingly. "You'll have to excuse me if I find that hard to believe."_

_"Why?" Lucy pulled back slightly so she could look at Amy. "It's the truth. It's like you said before, we've been doing this whole back and forth thing for a few weeks now, so it's safe to say that it's been at least that long."_

_"Well a few weeks without sex certainly doesn't constitute being deprived Lucy."_

_"Tell that to my sex drive," Lucy said with a chuckle that soon turned into a yelp from the pinch in the side she received from Amy._

_"And what about before?" Amy inquired._

_"Well I haven't really dated in a long time so..." Lucy said with a shrug as she let the sentence hang in the air._

_Amy pulled back slightly to look at Lucy. "You have to be dating someone to sleep with them?"_

_"Not at all, but it certainly doesn't hurt. Sex without some kind of understanding is just too confusing if you ask me, so I prefer to keep it simple and know what I'm getting into before I dive right in, so to speak." Lucy commented and pulled her arm behind her head and shifted to get more comfortable._

_"Wow, that's….wow," Amy said with an air of disbelief as she lay her head back down against Lucy._

_The brunette frowned slightly and cut her eyes to the blonde. "What's that supposed to mean?"_

_"Nothing," Amy quickly replied and lifted her head once again, but upon seeing the frown that still marred Lucy's face she explained further. "It's just that I know women probably throw themselves at you all the time so I guess I just assumed…I mean, I'm sure it has to be tempting."_

_"Trust me; it's not as tempting as you would think. Girls like that are a dime a dozen, and I'm more into quality…not quantity." Lucy frowned again at the implication and looked over at companion. "Seriously, did you think I'd be into sleeping with every pretty face and hot body that threw herself at me?"_

_"No! That's not what I meant," Amy exclaimed, scrambling for an explanation. "God I don't know what I meant," Amy brought an embarrassed hand to cover her reddening face. "I'm sorry," she mumbled._

_"For thinking I'm a raging slut? It's no big deal," Lucy grinned at the incredulous look Amy had when she suddenly moved her hand._

_"That is **not **what I think of you! You're gorgeous….incredibly sexy, charming and have a smile that can make any woman fall to her knees…so it's not you that I'm concerned with, it's the rest of the female population that I don't trust," Amy confessed._

_"Flattery will get you everywhere," Lucy teased as she leaned over to capture Amy's lips with her own. She teased at the girl's bottom lip until she felt Amy's tongue playfully come out and lick her own before dropping a brief kiss on her lips. Lucy couldn't help the dazzling smile that broke out on her face before she moved to lie down and urged the more than willingly blonde down on the bed with her. "Well it's not like I won't be competing for your affections either."_

_Amy chuckled and snuggled more into Lucy while throwing her arm back over her. "You won't have to compete with anyone as far as I'm concerned. I'm yours and I want only you," Amy brought her hand up to turn Lucy's face in her direction to kiss her softly._

_Lucy shivered slightly at the words and the soft kiss. "Yeah well like you said," she mumbled against Amy's lips, "it's the other assholes that can't be trusted."_

_Amy pulled back and settled her head against Lucy's shoulder. "I think you'll find that with the way I spend most of my time, I'm not really put in a position to be noticeable. If I'm not working at the garage then I'm mostly holed up in the apartment listening to Max rave about some new car part she just added. Sounds exciting right?" Amy asked sarcastically with a light grin playing at her lips._

_"It doesn't matter where you are, what you're doing or what you're wearing, believe me when I say a beautiful girl like you gets noticed. Plus there's the fact that you're batting for both teams, so looks like I'm going to need to keep an extra eye on you."_

_Amy chuckled, her warm breath tickling over Lucy's skin causing goose bumps and her seemingly always active libido to rise. She raised her head to look down at the gorgeous chocolate orbs that had her spellbound. "Well other than that one time I told you about in college, which was like a gazillion years ago, that was the only time I'd ever been with another woman," Amy revealed shyly as she laid her head back down in the crook of Lucy's neck and held her tighter. "And even then I was…you know…more on the receiving end," Amy mumbled into Lucy's neck._

_Lucy chuckled, "Well did you at least enjoy it?"_

_"You did not just ask me that," Amy groaned and buried her head further into Lucy's neck at the question._

_Lucy laughed out loud. "I did, you were the one who wanted to talk…now c'mon, answer the question."_

_Amy sighed and rolled away from Lucy to lie on her back, she looked over at the grinning girl and placed her hands over her face with a chuckle. "It was….nice."_

_Lucy raised a brow and waited, when nothing more came she rolled over and brought a hand up to move the ones Amy still had covering her face. "That's it? Nice?"_

_"Yeah," Amy shrugged, "What more do you want me to say?"_

_"I don't know…I guess something more than just 'nice'." Lucy told her then propped herself up on her elbow. She rested her head in her hand, and then a thought occurred to her. "If it was only once, there was no reciprocating **and** it was only 'nice', then how do you know you're really into women?" she asked, thinking it was a valid question. Lucy had seen an otherwise straight girl dabble on the other side of the fence more times than she could count. There was also the fact that Amy was pretending to be someone else completely, so it would make sense that the blonde agent didn't even like women and the story about the other woman and the fact that she really was into women was all made up as well just to get close to her._

_"Um Lucy…you do realize I'm here with you right?" Amy asked, once again mirroring Lucy's position and gazed curiously at her._

_"Yeah but all we've done is a little making out, hell…you won't even let me round a few bases. When I try to touch you anywhere I'm sure you deem inappropriate, you stop me," The brunette said, adopting a slightly whining tone. "So it's fair to say that you don't really know if you are or aren't."_

_"Do you like men?"_

_Lucy blinked a few times as she registered what she'd just been asked. She shifted and lay back down against the bed and looked up at the blonde. "Uh…that would be a negative."_

_"Have you ever been with a man…sexually?" Amy asked as she gazed down at the slightly miffed features of the brunette. A slight blush giving away that she wasn't totally at ease with the conversation._

_"I know what you're doing and it's not the same thing," Lucy replied instantly._

_"Answer the question please." Amy smiled softly and batted her lashes slightly for effect._

_Lucy narrowed her eyes and huffed, "No, I've never been with a man sexually or otherwise."_

_"So how do you know you're not into guys if you've never been with one?" Amy questioned and Lucy couldn't help but sense a little smugness coming from the girl._

_Lucy sighed, she'd set herself up for this. "Because I'm not attracted to men, in any way and I have no desire to be with one. I mean sure, I can look at a guy and think 'oh hey, he's a nice looking guy', but that's about as far as it goes and it doesn't mean I'd want to sleep with him," Lucy explained._

_"Well see it's exactly the same thing, I can look at a woman and think that she's attractive, the only difference is sometimes I may be sexually attracted to her as well…case and point, me being here with you. So just because my first experience with a woman wasn't mind blowing doesn't mean I'm still not attracted to them." Amy's blush deepened as she continued, "Plus, I never said I didn't do **anything**…just that she was a lot more generous than I was."_

_"So no sudden urge to pack up the U-Haul with this chick then," Lucy joked._

_"Ha ha," Amy feigned humor. "It definitely wasn't moving in that direction," Amy chuckled, "in fact, we barely spoke to each other after that night."_

_"Wow…if that's the case, it sounds like you're being charitable when you said it was 'nice'." Lucy laughed as Amy lay down against her again. When the agent remained quiet, Lucy decided to tease the blonde further. "Or maybe it's you that's the raging slut! I knew there was something I liked about you from the moment I saw you!" Lucy joked and laughed as she had to shield herself from the flurry of hands that were being aimed her way._

_"It wasn't like that," Amy pouted as she finally was able to land a soft slap against the back of Lucy's hand, "we just never got the chance to really get to know one another."_

_"Why not?" Lucy inquired as her laughter died down and she warily watched the blonde in fear she would start up her playful physical abuse again._

_"Bobby and I got back together," Amy simply said with a slight shrug and a sigh as she sat back._

_"Ah, good ole Bobby," Lucy said sarcastically upon hearing his name. "Twat blocker circa college days and still going strong. Did he know?"_

_"God no…no one does, or did. I've never told anyone about it, except for you now."_

_"Were you ashamed?" Lucy quirked a curious brow._

_"Not at all, she was a really sweet girl and I felt bad that things happened the way they did without us taking the time to really get to know each other, but with Bobby still being in the picture, it was…complicated."_

_Lucy frowned not understanding what could've been so complicated about just dropping the meathead. So she asked the only question that seemed to make sense as to why Bobby would factor into Amy's relationship with anyone else. "Were the two of you together then?" She had to ask, she didn't really peg the blonde for a cheater, but then again it's not like she really knew her._

_Amy shook her head. "No, nothing like that. We were…on a break, I guess you could say."_

_"A break?" Lucy lifted a curious brow._

_Amy shrugged slightly. "Yeah, I guess that's what you could call it."_

_"Meaning?" The criminal mastermind inquired, wanting to know the full scope of the story and not just the few bits and pieces Amy were giving her._

_"We were split up at the time and it had been decided that it was the best course of action for the time being."_

_"Best course of action? What the hell were the two of you doing, coming up with a battle strategy or trying to end a relationship?"_

_"Trying to save one actually…at least that's how it looked at the time and I have to admit, I was really angry with him for leaving," Amy reluctantly admitted._

_"Because you were in love with him?" Lucy stated more than asked and hoped that she didn't sound as bitter as she felt._

_Amy shook her head adamantly. "That wasn't the reason."_

_Lucy waited and when the blonde didn't elaborate she rolled her eyes at having to continue coaxing her for information. "Well what was the reason?"_

_"He was there when I was dealing with my parent's death," Amy explained._

_"Oh," was all Lucy could say._

_"As time went by I realized he was only just there…which I eventually realized wasn't really a good thing."_

_"Why not?" Lucy asked not really understanding what Amy was getting at._

_"Well that's just it, he didn't help, we never talked about it; he never even tried. He was just…there, and I'm ashamed to say that I was grateful for the distraction so I wrapped myself up in dating the handsome, popular guy from a well off family."_

_"He's not **that** handsome," Lucy mumbled. She saw the smirk that crossed Amy's lips at the statement as she ignored it and continued talking._

_"He was really good at circumvention, and anything that looked like it would take my focus away from him and his perfect little image of us, he wanted no part of." Amy sighed heavily. "So I did just that, I focused solely on him and trying to fit into a life that would go well with his. So when he decided that he was going to New York…something that he didn't even think to discuss with me, I realized that I was more upset about the fact that I wouldn't have him around to help take my mind off of things more than I was about the thought of not seeing him."_

_Lucy watched as a cloud seemed to settle over the other girl and she knew what that darkness centered around, it was something she could attest to feeling contritely about._

_"Hey," Lucy said softly as she brought her hand up to Amy's face and turned it towards her. She could see the tears that had formed in the perfect blue eyes and she wanted nothing more than to make them disappear. "Don't beat yourself up about what happened okay? It's a natural reaction and it doesn't make you a bad person for wanting to feel something other than grief."_

_Amy didn't say anything, she just leaned into the warm body of the woman that was consoling her and Lucy wasted no time in wrapping her up in her arms. She felt Amy shiver against her and she smoothed a hand over her blonde head and then kissed the top of it._

_"It's not just that, I just hate that I wasted so much time and effort with a man that I knew I was with for the wrong reason. I mean he wasn't really a bad guy he was just….self-absorb and had this image of what he and I should've been. He and I had been together for a while, on and off mostly, but I think everyone…myself included, just always assumed that we'd always be together, his father especially. It was creepy because I'm almost positive he was a direct descendant from a Cromag, with the possessiveness and his ideas of what women should be like. His mother was just as bad though because she was a typical Stepford wife. So naturally, Bobby was looking for that perfect life that he'd been brought up to believe in by his perfect parents, and on paper, I apparently fit that mold."_

_"Well if everything was so perfect for you and Crogmag Jr., then why'd the two of you break it off? It's obvious he still has strong feelings for you. What broke the cycle?" Lucy asked the million dollar question she'd been dying to ask since first finding out that the two secret agents were in a relationship. Even she had to admit that from the outside, **on paper**, they seemed perfect for each other._

_Lucy watched Amy's mouth gape for a few seconds as if she was trying to find the right words to convey what she wanted to say before she finally spoke. "There was nothing intense about mine and Bobby's relationship. When I first got to school I was still in shock I think, and when he pursued me I just…went with it. I mean sure I cared about him but we were on and off a few times even before he left for New York. He simply assumed that I was going to follow him, but when I decided I needed time to think about it we decided that maybe it would be best if we took a little space. He left, things…happened," Amy said with a slight blush, letting Lucy know exactly to what things the blonde was referring._

_"When he came back he insisted that we give it another try, and I just fell back into the old pattern. I think we would have continued to follow our old pattern but he….," Amy trailed off seemingly lost in thought._

_"He what?" Lucy urged as her eyes never left Amy's face. She silently swore to herself that if he had done something stupid like cheat on the blonde or hurt her physically in any way, she would track him down and do something more than break his nose._

_Amy sighed before swallowing hard. "He asked me to marry him."_

_Lucy arched her eyebrows in surprise. Okay she hadn't been expecting that answer._

_"And it's not like I didn't think that it would happen eventually and we'd end up married, but when he actually proposed, I don't know…I couldn't picture a future with him and I…" she paused again._

_"You what?" Lucy asked interestedly._

_Amy turned to look over at Lucy seriously. It seemed like forever the two locked in a heated gaze before Amy finally spoke. "I think love should be irresistible, like a drug, ya know? I think when it happens you should just…not be able to help yourself. I just, I wanted….more," Amy finished the statement as she continued to stare into Lucy's eyes._

_Lucy stared back, her dark eyes boring intensely into sparkling blue ones as she let what Amy had just said filter through her mind. She couldn't help but think that everything that Amy had just said about love somehow applied to the situation she found herself in now, because even though she knew who Amy was and what she was there for…she just couldn't seem to help herself where the blonde was concerned._

_"I knew I didn't feel that way about him so I ended it," Amy said as she finally looked away shyly before chancing another glance over at the brunette. "I'm sorry, I'm babbling."_

_"No…you're not, at all," Lucy reassured her, but her mind still dwelled on the implications of the blonde's words and she knew she was in trouble. Her eyes squeezed shut and her heart thudded at the feeling of dread that ran over her with the situation she found herself in and wondered how things had turned to shit so quickly._

_Mere minutes ago, she had been happily joking with the blonde, reveling in her good fortune to be with the other girl, and now she was doing everything to keep the swelling feeling of panic from taking control and causing her to bolt from the room. This simply couldn't be happening to her again._

_It was Amy pressing her soft lips against her temple then down over her cheek until she reached her lips that broke Lucy out of her thoughts._

_"Thank you," Amy said softly as she continued pressing kisses along Lucy lips._

_"For what?" Lucy asked confused._

_"For everything…for being here, for listening. Just for being the wonderful person you are. You just…get it without even trying and I lo…," Amy paused and Lucy's eye brows shot up in her hairline at what she thought Amy was going to say. "I like spending time like this with you." Lucy let out a slow breath and thanked the heavens that Amy had chosen something simpler to say._

_"And this goes both ways, you know?" Amy continued which caused Lucy to raise a brow wondering what the other girl was referring too._

_"Okay," Lucy said slowly and looked down suspiciously at the blonde laying in her arms. She noted how she was avoiding making eye contact with her and more red flags were instantly raised._

_"Even without me asking you things you should feel that you can tell me things too." Amy looked up briefly to gauge Lucy's reaction before lying back in her arms and began toying with the brunette's hand. "I'll listen without prejudice and I won't judge you."_

_"Is there somewhere particular you're going with this?" Lucy asked, wondering how the conversation had turned around to her._

_"Not really," Amy said and shrugged slightly. "I just want you to know that you can trust me, that's all and anything you say or do won't make me change my mind about wanting to be with you."_

_"Where is all of this coming from, Amy?" Lucy pulled back slightly to look down at the secret agent. The thudding in her chest seemed to get stronger and her sense of panic and dread was starting to increase._

_Amy pulled herself into a sitting position again and turned so that she had one arm leaning over the alleged thief's body and looked down at her. She gazed at Lucy for a few moments before she finally spoke. "Well like I said before, anything that I know about you and your family are only things I've seen in the paper or on t.v. and not all of it has been good."_

_Lucy nodded as she listened, having an idea of where this conversation might lead. After all, Amy had a job to do and at some point, trying to dazzle her with her superb French kissing skills wasn't going to get the D.E.B.S the information they needed. "Yeah, those news reporters are nothing but glorified paparazzi, what they can't find, they make up. It's how they make their living, it's dog eat dog sweetheart," Lucy replied dismissively._

_"Well it's not just that Lucy….you surround yourself with a lot of people, and it's not hard to see that most of those people are armed. Other than the whole racing scene, which I can't exactly reprimand you for because hello…I'm dead smack in the middle of it too, but I'm not exactly packing either when I'm at a race."_

_"Oh well then that explains it," Lucy smirked in an effort to steer the conversation to something lighter._

_"Explains what?" Amy asked confused._

_"Since you're not packing, that just means you're happy to see me," Lucy grinned, unable to help herself._

_Amy couldn't help the eye roll at the comment as slugged Lucy in the shoulder again, "Lucy!"_

_"Okay seriously, the only person I should probably be worried about hurting me is you since you keep hitting me," Lucy commented as she rubbed her shoulder again._

_Amy reached up to move Lucy's hand away and took over rubbing her shoulder. "I'm sorry…but Lucy I'm serious," Amy stated with a slight pout that Lucy couldn't help but find endearing even though every voice in her head was screaming at her to stop falling for the blonde's charm._

_"I noticed, but I'm still not seeing where this is going," Lucy feigned innocence knowing good and well where the D.E.B. was headed._

_"I guess I'm just worried…or afraid," Amy confessed, her hand starting to softly knead into Lucy shoulder._

_That got Lucy's attention and she couldn't help but soften her stance. The last thing she wanted was for Amy to be afraid of anything as far as she was concerned. "Afraid of what?"_

_"I guess of what you do."_

_Even though that particular answer wasn't one she wanted, it made her breath a little easier knowing that it wasn't her that Amy was actually afraid of. "And what exactly is it that you think I do?" Lucy asked curiously._

_"Don't do that Lucy," Amy said stiffly as she moved and roughly lay back down on the bed and peered over at Lucy. "You and your family have been in the media since…forever. Even when you were out of the country the infamous Lucy Diamond made the headlines. I'm not judging you okay? It's just that I know your business isn't just about real estate and street racing, so please don't insult me like I don't know who you are and what it is you do."_

_Lucy ran a frustrated hand over her face as she let out a long, deep sigh. She knew she shouldn't be surprised by anything Amy was saying or the tactic she was using, after all she knew the D.E.B had a job to do and this would happen sooner or later._

_The only feeling she had now was that of deep disappointment that it was happening now and disappointment that she'd allowed herself to actually develop feelings for the government agent. She knew that the more time she spent with the gorgeous girl and the longer she looked into her mesmerizing baby blue eyes, the harder it became for her to keep up the visage that this was all a game for her even though Amy clearly was still only in it to take her down. At least without the interrogation Lucy could delude herself into thinking that Amy actually gave a damn, but now she knew that the secret agent wasn't playing around._

_It was all fun and games for Lucy when she knew she wasn't at any risk of being hurt, or even hurting the D.E.B. for that matter. The worst she figured that would happen to Amy would be that she would go back to her organization with her tail tucked firmly between her legs and tally another strike in the loss column on the government side caused by the elusive Reynolds' crew. Now however, she knew her own personal feelings were becoming an issue and that's something she never accounted for when she started this pursuit._

_She internally cursed herself for not factoring in any unknown variables such as this, but it was something she never thought in a million years would be an issue. Never did she think that she'd be so smitten with someone she was so supposed to hate. Then again, it's not like she didn't have a history for falling for women she wasn't supposed to. Maybe that was the problem Lucy thought to herself, she always wanted what she couldn't have, and in her world there was nothing she wanted that she didn't get._

_This however was something completely different because the thing she wanted had the ability to literally destroy her, not only professionally but emotionally as well. Lucy knew she had to put an end to what she was doing, if not only for her sake but for her family and those she employed as well. Right now, it was a matter safety and of survival, and those things definitely didn't lie within the arms of the woman she couldn't for the life of her keep herself from wanting._

_With another deep sigh, Lucy reeled in her emotions and figured diffusing the situation was the best course of action for the time being. She'd figure out a way to let go of the girl later, right now she was being watched with concerned, piercing blue eyes that she had to struggle not to get lost in as they waited for her to respond._

_"Look Amy, I pretty much know how we're portrayed by the media, they're vultures, they do what they're paid to do and that's to cause suspicion and make things seem interesting when they're really not. All that stuff that you think you know about me and my family has never been proven…**ever**," Lucy put emphasis on the word and noticed how Amy's gaze waivered slightly._

_"So I'm not going to delve into all of my business dealings with you and it's not that I have anything to hide, but it's just not something that I feel the need to discuss or explain," Lucy said without malice or the intent to give the agent any reason to question her further even though she knew it wouldn't just end here. "Mixing business with your personal life is something I've learned should be kept separate," Lucy said with a heavily sigh. "In the end, it just isn't worth it."_

_"So what are we doing then?" Amy asked softly as she shifted so that she was facing the brunette. She reached out and placed a hand against Lucy's cheek to force her to look at her._

_"What do you mean?" Lucy frowned slightly not understanding the question._

_"Technically I do kind of work for you so that means…,"_

_"You're fired," Lucy said authoritatively, but the slow grin that was spread across her lips betrayed her seriousness._

_"You can't fire me," Amy countered with a grin of her own as she gazed adoringly at Lucy, "you need me."_

_"I do need you," Lucy readily agreed as her tongue darted out to moisten her lips and her hand reached out to lightly brush against Amy's cheek. It didn't surprise her how easily she could admit that, but what did was how much she meant it. Oh yeah. She was definitely in for a world of hurt with this one. She wasn't sure when or how she'd allowed herself to fall so head over heels for this woman, but she did know that it made her feel vulnerable, something she didn't like feeling. "But if you're afraid, then why are you here with me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she wrestled with her thoughts._

_Amy shook her head slightly and brought her hand up to place over the one Lucy was caressing her with and leaned into her touch. "I'm not afraid of being with you, I wouldn't be here if I was…I'm afraid of losing you."_

_Lucy smiled warmly at what Amy had just said to her. It made her heart race at the look in her eyes when she'd said it, like she actually meant it, Lucy knew better though. She couldn't allow herself to be fooled into thinking that the blonde actually gave a damn about anything other than obtaining information on her and locking up her for a long time. That's what had landed her in this mess in the first place._

_"I'm not going anywhere," she rasped with raw emotion, "and you don't have to worry about me, believe me Scud does that enough. Besides, this place is like the White House, I think it's safe to say that I'm well-guarded."_

_Amy smiled and nodded slightly, closing the distance between them and cuddling into Lucy's side. She rested her head in the crook of the brunette's neck and wrapped her arm across Lucy's torso. "Well if it takes all that then you're obviously in danger. I guess I don't get why if what you do is that dangerous and you need all this security, why even bother with it?" Amy questioned rhetorically but Lucy felt the need to answer anyway._

_"I inherited a multimillion dollar empire from my dad as well as any enemies he's made. He was a ruthless business man and hostile takeover was his favorite tactic, so obviously when you're dealing with people's livelihood and literally putting them in a soup line it tends to creates malevolence. That coupled with that fact that I'm sure I'm bound to make a few enemies of my own now that I'm in charge, it's just part of how it goes," Lucy made a point to make mention of the legal side of her business dealings._

_"I can't change that, but I can assure you that we take every necessary precaution to ensure my safety as well as those I employ. What can I say? It's all a part of doing business and it's not always safe," Lucy simply stated and hoped it would be the end of the conversation, but unfortunately for her it wasn't._

_"If there was no family business that just fell into your lap what else would you want to do?"_

_Lucy drew in a deep breath and blew it out, lightly ruffling her bangs. She was sure that they'd had this conversation earlier tonight but at the sake of keeping things calm she answered anyway. "Like I said before, I honestly never gave it any thought. I always knew I would take over one day so really what was the point in wasting the energy."_

_Suddenly, Lucy felt her breath hitch in her throat and she involuntarily lifted her head and looked down to see that the blonde had managed to work her hand under the hem of her shirt and was now caressing the smooth skin of her stomach in small circles. She was sure it was intended to be a soothing gesture but it was having quite the opposite effect and she let her head fall heavily back against her pillow._

_"Oh come on Lucy, there has to be something that you enjoy doing?" Amy asked seemingly unaware of the effect she was having._

_"Oh there is," Lucy paused momentarily as she relished in the feel of Amy's warm hand on her skin._

_"Well?" Amy asked, unbeknownst to the fire that she was once again igniting in the brunette._

_"Racing and hot women," Lucy finally said and jumped slightly when Amy stopped her caress and pinched her firmly in the side instead. "What?" Lucy asked as she looked down innocently at Amy. "You asked," she defended herself with a small laugh. "My love for both was firmly solidified before I reached puberty and saw American Graffiti."_

_"American Graffiti?" Amy asked with surprise lacing her voice. "Lucy that movie was made in like…the 70's or something wasn't it? It's older than you are so how on earth did THAT end up turning you into a pervert with a penchant for racing." Amy chuckled._

_"Seriously Amy, have you seen the movie?" Lucy pulled back slightly to look at the Amy's face._

_"Well no, but still…70's movie, so not my thing," the blonde said as she turned up her nose slightly at the thought._

_"Well see there you go! How can you appreciate something when you don't even know what you're missing?"_

_"And what exactly am I missing?"_

_"Other than the fact that it's a classic…you've got a hot mysterious blonde cruising around in a white '56 T-bird. So let's see," Lucy brought a hand up and tapped her index finger against her lips as if she was thinking, "hot blonde, hotter car…okay seriously need I say more? What's not to love about that?" Lucy asked seriously as she threw her hand up in a dramatic fashion._

_"What am I going to do with you?" Amy laughed as she pressed tighter against Lucy and splayed her fingers against her abdomen and slid it around to rest against her side._

_"Whatever you want," Lucy winked suggestively as she wrapped her arm around the blonde's shoulders and pulled her in tight. "Besides you should take that as a compliment. You got the hot blonde part down pat and you are sort of a racer chick."_

_"Sort of?" Amy queried._

_"Yeah, sort of…you don't exactly drive, and that car of yours, well…," Lucy trailed off._

_"Hey! There is nothing wrong with my car," Amy protested._

_"No, but I doubt it's equipped for racing," Lucy smirked, "but out of what I just said you should be focusing on the hot blonde part. Which means you should probably take that as a compliment."_

_"Oh should I? Because I do recall that you also said you enjoy women and racing…'women' as in plural," Amy pointed out with a pout in her voice. Lucy chuckled softly and pressed a kiss to the top of the blonde's head. She just couldn't help herself._

_"Force of habit," she assured the other girl. "I definitely prefer to keep anything in the bedroom a one on one activity._

_"Well that's extremely fortunate for you because I would hate to keep you in your deprived state all because you wanted to impose some type of weird sex group thing you're harboring," Amy chuckled._

_"Oh c'mon, there's absolutely nothing weird about a threesome! You can't honestly tell me you haven't at least thought about it, right?" Lucy grinned at the exasperated look she was getting from her teasing and instead of a verbal answer, Lucy felt soft kisses being peppered against her lips and it caused her eyes to flutter closed._

_"I take that as a no," Lucy mumbled between kisses._

_"Lucy?" Amy finally responded._

_"Hmmm?"_

_"Shut up," The blonde commanded as she continued her advances against the brunette's lips._

_Lucy smiled against the soft lips that were being pressed against her own and simply allowed herself to be kissed. She knew she probably shouldn't have especially when she'd made the decision not to take things any further with D.E.B., but the kisses were sweet and affectionate, and each time Amy's lips touched hers, Lucy couldn't help but feel like she was falling deeper and deeper. Into what, she didn't know, or at least didn't want to acknowledge._

_What she did know was that every so often, she could feel Amy's soft tongue brushing against her bottom lip, causing an even bigger rush of desire to wash over her. When she opened her mouth to receive it, Amy eagerly slipped her tongue inside and gently massaged it against her own._

_Lucy brought one of her hands up to Amy's head and threaded her fingers back through her hair making the golden locks pour through them like hot butter. She felt Amy mirror her actions as one of her hands reached up and slipped into her dark, silky tresses. The brunette rewarded her efforts with an answering moan of her own as she deepened the kiss and slipped her tongue deeper inside of Amy's mouth._

_After several long moments and when breathing became an issue both girls pulled back and seemingly at the same time they both leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together. Lucy could feel Amy's breath washing over her lips as she panted for air. Her heavily lidded eyes opened and she leaned in to plant a series of soft kisses against the lips she was fast becoming addicted too._

_"So I guess that means we're done talking for tonight," Lucy managed to say with a smirk as she struggled to pull air into her lungs._

_"Looks that way," Amy responded, equally as breathless. "And since you were such a good sport about it, maybe we could maybe do something you want….look at it as a compromise." Amy suggested as she reached down and grabbed Lucy's hand and placed it under her shirt and pushed it higher until Lucy could feel her thumb brush the underside of Amy's breast._

_A small frown marred Lucy's face as her eyes briefly darted to the outline of her hand under the thin fabric and back up to look into Amy's eyes. "What are you doing?" Lucy asked and then internally chastised herself for asking such a stupid question because it was more than obvious what Amy was **letting **her do._

_"Letting you round a few bases…think of it as something to quell your deprivation," Amy rasped, her voice was thick with need and want and she leaned in to capture Lucy's lips again._

_The tone wasn't lost on Lucy, and she allowed herself to be kissed again as her own desire drummed throughout her entire body. Her hand instinctively moved on its own accord to cover the soft flesh of Amy's breast. She squeezed it gently in her palm and allowed her thumb to graze over the taut nipple. She felt more than heard the moan that reverberate in Amy's throat at the touch and felt herself being pulled forward as Amy's hand grasped her forearm and laid back against the bed, bringing her with her._

_The movement brought Lucy back to reality and she begrudgingly slipped her hand from under Amy's shirt and pulled back to stare down breathless at the women lying under her. She could feel the rise and fall of the other girl's chest against her own as her brilliant blue eyes stared back at her. Lucy felt lost, like a deer caught in headlights and not knowing which way was the safest way to turn._

_"What's wrong?" Amy asked as she reached up and cupped Lucy's face in her hands._

_Lucy had heard the question but it had sounded distant as the sound of her thudding heart pounded in her ears. Her mouth gaped slightly but she couldn't answer because of the lump that had formed in her throat at the number of things that passed through her mind that were actually wrong with the situation. Instead, she brought her hand up and sought the outline of Amy's angelic face and gently caressed it with her fingertips, tracing the contours as her dark eyes followed the movement._

_"You don't have to do this…in fact we probably **shouldn't** be doing this," Lucy finally whispered as her eyes swept over Amy's face again before she looked into her eyes._

_She watched as curious blue eyes stared at her, probably looking for any indication that something was wrong. Lucy felt uncomfortable at the close scrutiny and with a heavy sigh she slid off of Amy and back onto the bed and ran a frustrated hand over her face._

_The bed shifted beside her and she felt Amy's hand on her forearm, "Lucy, please tell me what's wrong?" She asked again. "Was it something I did?"_

_"No! Of course not," Lucy assured hoping she sounded convincing. "It's just that…it's late and in a couple more hours I'll probably be reaching the twenty-four hour mark of being awake." She sighed heavily at what she was doing. "It's just that…I'm tired and knowing Scud he probably won't allow me to be in here past seven without coming to make sure I'm still in here and amongst the living." She knew it wasn't a valid excuse, but any excuse was better than none, right?_

_"Are you sure?" Amy asked, not entirely convinced._

_"Yeah baby, I'm sure," Lucy smiled softly and leaned up and placed a reassuring, lingering kiss on Amy's lips. "Let's just get some sleep okay?"_

_Amy nodded slowly and Lucy could tell she wanted to press the issue further, but fortunately, she didn't and only conceded and leaned in and placed another gentle kiss against her lips that made Lucy shudder because she knew it would probably be the last._

_"Goodnight," Amy said softly and lay back against the bed._

_"Nite," Lucy reluctantly replied back and watched as Amy shifted and faced away from her and grabbed one of the pillows and curled herself around it. She couldn't help the scowl that crossed her features at her own actions as she pulled herself up to lean over and turn off the lamp and shrouded them in darkness. Even though she ached to do so, she resisted the urge to curl herself around the women lying next to her and hold her as she slept. Instead, she flopped back against the bed and hoped like hell unconsciousness would take over her soon and relieve her of the nightmare she'd found herself in._

* * *

Lucy made an attempt to pull her body into a stretch only to find that her range of motion was limited by the warm body that was snuggled next to her. Her eyes popped open at the unfamiliar notion that there was someone occupying her sleeping space. Pulling back slightly to look over at the still slumbering figure lying next to her, she blinked several times trying to get her eyes to adjust to the darkness that still enveloped her room. The blackout curtains only allowed a sliver of light to peek into the room, but it was enough for Lucy to see the mess of blonde hair splayed on the pillow.

Not since her time in Japan had she had a regular overnight companion, and even then there was no mistaking it for anything other than what it was. As soon as she'd landed on the island, she was received by Kaminari Akihiro, the daughter of Oyabun Akihiro, the man she was there to do business with.

Lucy was so well received in fact, that she and the dark haired beauty had landed in bed together within the first week. Kaminari was only a year older than Lucy, drop dead gorgeous and the best part was that Lucy knew she didn't have to hide any part of herself or what she did from the girl; she too was the daughter of a family head and that made full disclosure much easier.

Neither girl was naïve enough to believe that what they were doing could be more than what it was, just sex. Amazing sex to be sure, but still just sex that would occasionally led to a sleepover so they could wake up and do it all over again. Lucy knew she wasn't in any danger of losing her heart to her new foreign lover; it still belonged to the girl that had broken it into a million pieces back in L.A., and the distraction Kaminaril provided from her broken heart was appreciated.

Lucy wasn't sure of how long her forced trip to Japan was supposed to last while she expanded her family's business and ensure foreign relations with the head of the Japanese mafia. However, when her visit turned into a number of years and both girls started to develop a fondness for each other that went beyond the sexual, they knew that their friends with benefits status was becoming more complicated than they had intended.

After a long discussion, it was agreed that they'd keep things strictly professional. So once again, Lucy had to make a choice between business and her heart and the still gun shy Lucy had once again chosen business. She had resigned herself to the fact that there was no room for love in her life.

However, there was the fact that she wasn't a nun, nor did she have any aspirations to be, so from that point forward, the brunette made it a point to keep any romantic involvements she'd had short and to the point. She never gave any girl a reason to believe that what they were doing would last or turn into something more serious, and if either one of them started to develop feelings Lucy was quick to end it. It was just her way of trying to connect with someone without losing herself in them and even though it left her lonely most of the time, she got what she needed so all in all, it was a good arrangement.

Lucy frowned, wondering how she'd strayed so far from her former self. After her last encounter with heart ache, that in which she called Riley Schaffer, she'd promised herself to never allow another woman to get close to her heart again. Somehow though the blonde had snuck past her defenses before she knew what hit her.

Lucy ran a lazy hand over her face and sighed as the previous night's events played out in her mind even as she slept. Given her abysmal luck when it came to dating maybe she _should_ consider becoming a nun, it would surely be less confusing and frustrating.

Just as she was preparing to slip out of the bed, hopefully unnoticed, the blonde head on her shoulder stirred and rose. Hazy, unfocused beautiful blue eyes slowly opened and blinked at her a few times. After a few moments the confusion in them cleared and she was greeted with a shy smile.

"Good morning," Amy's voice cracked with disuse and the general huskiness associated with the first words of the day.

"Morning," Lucy replied, a small smile gracing her own lips. She wanted to reach out and smooth the blonde's sleep rumpled hair but she squelched the urge. She could afford to pursue a diversion with the D.E.B., she could even afford to like the girl while doing it, but she couldn't afford to fall in love.

So instead of losing herself in bedmate and suggesting that they just blow off all their responsibilities and spend the day in bed, she shifted and pushed herself into a sitting position, dislodging Amy in the process.

Just as she was about to provide Amy with some flimsy excuse as to why she needed her to leave, there was a knock at her door. _Good ole, punctual Scud, _Lucy thought_. _Naturally, she groaned at the intrusion but deep down she was grateful for it. The knocking grew more persistent and she looked to Amy with what she hoped was an apologetic look.

"Sorry, he's not going away so I need to see what he wants," Lucy motioned towards the door.

Amy shook her head adamantly, her blonde hair ruffling around her shoulders, "No, it's fine…really."

Lucy only nodded as she got up and ran a hand through her hair while hoping her bedhead hadn't decided to play a cruel joke on her this morning as she made her way to the door. As she approached, another more forceful knock resounded through her room and she could hear Scud mumbling something on the other side.

"Lucy? I know you're in there," she heard him yell. "At least I hope you are and didn't spend the entire night out like Dom once again. I swear she never listens to me, one day she's going to get herself in a world of trouble…," he continued to rant.

Lucy jerked the door open with a scowl on her face and causing the sandy-haired man to jump and let out a little surprised yelp. "What is it Scud?" she barked.

"Oh! You're up!"

Lucy rolled her eyes as her right hand man stated the obvious. "I am, but if I wasn't…all that banging surely would've done the job. Now what is it?"

"Well, there's something I need to discuss with you…or rather show you," he stated and made an attempt to enter Lucy's room.

The brunette extended her arm and held her hand to his chest and shoved him back into the hallway. "Slow down there Seabiscuit," she told him as she briefly looked back and then stepped over the threshold and out into the hallway and closed the door.

She watched Scud's face as the revelation that she was not alone registered. She snickered when his mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally spoke.

"You have someone in there," he asked and Lucy simply nodded. "A female someone?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "As if there would be a someone of any other variety."

"Is it Amy?" Scud leaned in and asked in a hushed tone and bounced his brows playfully.

The criminal mastermind shook her head at his antics, but nodded in confirmation.

"This is great! This means we can get rid of her now!" He yelled and slapped Lucy heartily on the back, the move caught the thief off-guard and she lurched forward slightly from the force.

She reached out and slugged him hard in the shoulder. "Do you mind being a little more tactful? Albeit thick, these doors aren't sound- proof you know?"

"Oh! Sorry…sorry," Scud apologized but still had a goofy grin still plastered on his face.

Lucy shook her head unable to help the slight smirk that graced her lips at her friend. Just as she was about to tell Scud she need to take her overnight guest back to her own home, movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned her head to see Dominique slowly walking their way.

Scud's head turned in the direction that Lucy was looking in and he folded his arms across his chest and gave a disapprovingly glare to his sister.

"Well it's so nice of you to join us this morning. I mean I was just telling Lucy here how I wondered if you would grace us with your presence today."

Dom smiled lazily at her brother as she neared. "Of course you were, because I know your day just doesn't go well if you aren't afforded with the sight of me dear brother."

Lucy could only smile warmly at the duo; the two of them never failed to amuse her, particularly when they were together and bantering.

"So since when do we conduct morning meetings in the hallway?" Dom asked as she leaned against the railing of the staircase.

"Since Lucy has a girl in her room," Scud answered, clearly amused with himself. "_The_ girl," he provided.

"Oh?" Dominique looked to her boss and longtime friend.

Lucy nodded. "Look let me take care of...," she gestured toward the closed bedroom door behind her, "so we can take care of...," she gestured to whatever it was Scud wanted to show her. "I won't be long, I just need to run her home." Seeing both Scud and Dom nod Lucy turned to reenter her room.

"I knew you could do it," she heard Dominique yell out as she closed the door behind her. _So different, yet_ t_wo of a kind, _she thought as she walked towards the bed, slightly embarrassed and hopeful that Amy's secret agent ears hadn't caught any part of that interaction.

"Sorry about that," she apologized as she neared the bed and looked down at the inviting figure that still occupied her bed. "I don't want to be a bad hostess or anything, but that can't wait," she motioned to the closed door, indicating Scud's arrival. It was the partial truth, she knew that whatever Scud had come to her room at such an early hour was probably important, but not _that_ important seeing as he took the time to access and joke about her sleeping arrangements.

Lucy saw the blue eyes cloud once again, this time with confusion, hurt, and finally what she assumed was a mixture of embarrassment and discomfort. Seeing the agent's confusion Lucy felt like an ass and once again fought the desire to just say "screw it" and crawl back into bed. Before she could second guess herself any further Amy sat up, dragging the sheet with her and holding it to her chest as some kind of feeble shield.

"Right, of course, let me just change back into my clothes and I will um…." Amy tucked some of her unruly hair behind her ear and letting her sentence trail off.

"It's no rush or anything, it's just that…you know," Lucy interjected, letting her sentence trail off as well. _Awkward much?_ She thought as she ran her hand through her hair. "I um, well…you can go first," Lucy motioned to the bathroom. "I'll just…I'll get dressed out here and when you're ready I'll take you home."

"Thanks." Lucy saw the light burn of embarrassment high on the blonde's cheeks and she smiled reassuringly. While she wanted some distance she really didn't want to unduly humiliate the other woman.

She adopted a genuine smile and nodded her head. "Not a problem."

She could see a small sliver of relief ghost through the blonde's gaze and Amy sent her a small smile of her own and nodded her head. "Okay well I'll just…" her voice trailed off and she gestured vaguely towards the bathroom. Lucy watched as the agent quickly gathered her clothes from the chair they had been placed on the night before and disappear into the bathroom.

Lucy let out a ragged sigh and flopped back onto the bed, draping her arms across her eyes. "Fucking cursed," she grumbled to the empty room.

* * *

Amy stood at the curb, watching Lucy's car drive away, trying to figure out where she had gone wrong with the lanky brunette. The conversation was minimal on the ride over and Lucy barely looked at her when she'd dropped her off. The brunette didn't even have the decency to offer her a goodbye kiss or walk her to her door. Amy knew a brush off when she saw one, and certainly when she was on the receiving end of one, she could definitely sense that the criminal mastermind was more than a little eager to get rid of her, but she couldn't figure out why.

Lucy had been more than receptive before and after they'd settled into bed. She was affectionate, playful and incredibly sweet. It was such a contrast to the woman that had been profiled by her organization. Lucy Diamond was a sweetheart plain and simple, and it was that woman, not the cold hardened criminal she was made out to be that Amy knew she was falling for.

With that said, Amy was willing to consider that it was her own hot, cold, hot routine the previous evening that had caused the brunette to flee. Just remembering her behavior the previous night caused the blonde agent to pinch the bridge of her nose and shake her head in disbelief at her own actions. She still wasn't entirely sure what had possessed her to change her mind and want to takes things a little further with the other woman when not even an hour before she herself had put the brakes on taking things to a more physical level.

Okay so she could come up with a few reasons of why she'd done it. Amy couldn't deny anymore that she wanted to take things to the next level with the brunette; however, she knew that she couldn't with so much riding on this case being closed and Lucy ending up behind bars. Sleeping with Lucy would cause an even bigger mess as far as her feelings were concerned. She knew there'd be no turning away from the alleged thief if she took that extra step. So in a way she was relieved that Lucy had shied away from her advance. It was the reason why and the cold nature in which she was being treated now that the blonde didn't understand.

So while she was sure that her spastic behavior was a factor, something told her that it wasn't the whole story. By all rights the brunette should have happily taken advantage of the situation given that she'd made it more than obvious that sleeping with her was definitely something she wanted. Amy wracked her brain, trying to figure out what they had been discussing that could have shifted the tide. Previous relationships, dead parents, Bobby. Although she had made an attempt to talk about the organization and to get Lucy to open up to her about it, even just a little, Amy knew she had been stonewalled on that front.

Amy sighed heavily. Definitely not the most scintillating of pillow talk, it was no wonder the other woman had been eager to flee. Oh and of course she mustn't forget that she had more or less implied that she was in love with her and wanted more. Great. No wonder Lucy had been so distant all morning. The crime boss had made a vague promise to call her later, but at this point Amy wasn't sure she should wait by the phone. Max was going to be so pissed.

Amy sighed again and turned reluctantly to face her apartment building. She was seriously dreading the upcoming confrontation with her volatile partner, but she knew that she couldn't put it off forever. Knowing Max, she was in for a very loud chewing out, a list of all the section codes she had broken, and a lecture about standard mission operation procedure. She drew in one final fortifying breath and figured she might as well just hurry up and get it over with. The sooner Max chewed her out the sooner she could retreat to her bedroom and figure out how she was going to patch things up with Lucy.

Amy quietly entered the apartment and was immediately enveloped in a bone crushing hug as she crossed over the threshold.

"Oh my god Amy…you're okay!" Janet squealed as she leaned back to look at the blonde, causing Amy to frown at the unnecessary welcome home.

"I'm fine Janet, why would you think I…," Amy's words were cut off by the lack of oxygen that she now had. Her luck could not be this bad, it simply couldn't. Life wouldn't be this cruel.

"Ah the prodigal has finally returned," the voice held the cool edge of disdain and Amy found herself straightening to attention as best she could with a still clinging Janet. Apparently it would.

"Ms. Petire! What a surprise," Amy managed to squeak out.

"I'll bet, "the older woman drawled dryly. The agency head stood with her arms folded as Mr. Phipps and Max flanked her on each side. "Why don't you come join us, we were all just having a lovely chat about you."

Janet glanced sympathetically at Amy as she slunk away and sat down on the couch and tried to make herself disappear. Mr. Phipps stood wordlessly beside Mrs. Petrie, his usual stoic mask in place while dressed in his usual blue business attire, Amy couldn't help but muse how weird it was seeing him back in a suit after months of the standard garage attire she'd gotten use too. She shot him a quick glance and she could see his eyes soften a bit before her own eyes turned to meet her partner's gaze. Max stood to Ms. Petrie's right, arms crossed over her chest, and a positive death glare aimed in her direction. Amy swallowed nervously; this was going to be fun.

"Now that we've established that you aren't bobbing face up along the coastline and waste valuable government resources looking for you, Ms. Bradley would you care to tell me exactly where you were last night?" Ms. Petrie questioned as soon as Amy made her way further into the living room.

"Bradshaw," Amy corrected automatically.

"Excuse me?" Petrie asked, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

Amy swallowed thickly, recognizing her mistake almost as soon as the words left her mouth. "My name, it's Bradshaw, not umm Bradley," Amy finished quietly, not understanding how after all these years of working for the D.E.B.S, Ms. Petrie _still_ couldn't get her name right.

Ms. Petrie's mouth quirked into what Amy assumed was the other woman's version of a smile. The blonde felt an involuntary shudder race through her body at the sight. "Well then, Ms. _Bradshaw_ would you care to tell me, why it is your partner here and Jill felt it necessary to summon me out of a very important meeting with the presumption that something awful had happened to you?"

Janet opened her mouth to correct their department head about her name, but was abruptly cut off by the death glare Max shot her way.

Amy licked her lips nervously, and fought the urge to fidget. "I was uh…following up on a lead." Petrie arched a perfectly sculpted brow and looked at the clearly uncomfortable agent questioningly, silently urging the blonde to continue. "The target decided to the leave the event we were invited to a little earlier than we assessed. An opportunity to accompany her presented itself, so I took it."

Petrie sat quietly for a few moments, apparently digesting the information. "Ms. Brimley, I know you're well aware that no agent is to be left alone with a target for any length of time. It is why our agents are always paired up in teams of at least two, not only is it more practical in that it serves as an extra pair of eyes and ears for the mission, but more importantly, it is for your safety and doesn't leave you vulnerable to the enemy."

Amy nodded in agreement, but briefly thought that there was definitely no way she wanted Max around for some of the steamy make-out sessions she and Lucy had engaged in. Just the thought of them and being with the other woman almost brought a smile to her face…almost, then she realized she was in the middle of being reprimanded. Surely a lovesick grin wouldn't bode well for her in this moment.

"So in knowing that," Ms. Petrie continued, "You didn't think it prudent to notify the rest of your team as to your whereabouts? When my office received the call that one of our own was missing, I had to leave in the middle of a very important meeting to get here and sort this mess out, Ms. Bower here simply had no idea where you were."

Amy sent a few unkind thoughts her partner's way. Max was usually rigidly by the book, but if there was one time to make an exception Amy would have thought now might have been a perfect candidate. They were already skating on thin ice with this assignment, and revealing that they were violating protocols left and right would surely not end well for them.

"Well it happened pretty quickly, Lucy Diamond was clearly upset about something and I didn't have time to check in and still accost her before she left."

"You are aware you wear the standard issue watch for a reason, correct?"

Amy bit back a curse. She had deliberately not worn the multi-purpose communications device and time piece for her outing last night. She was desperately trying to think of a better excuse as to why she had neglected to don the item than the real reason; it had clashed with her outfit.

"I do." Amy nodded her head emphatically. "It's just that Lucy had already commented on it a few times, and it uh…would have looked really out of place if I had continuously worn it so I…." Amy lied and trailed off when she saw the narrowing of the older woman's eyes. Yeah she definitely should have thought of a better excuse.

"I see, well I'll be sure to notify R&D that they need to find a way to make it more fashion forward." Petrie paused briefly, eyeing the blonde critically. "Surely someone of Ms. Reynolds considerable holdings must possess at least one phone?"

"Well I didn't think it was appropriate to check in on a phone line of the person I'm targeting. The line could've been unsecure and I didn't want to risk it. Then it started getting late, so it was decided that I just stay the night and then we just made our way into bed," Amy replied unthinkingly, then realized her error as soon as the words left her mouth and she saw her boss's eyes narrow critically. Shit. Why couldn't she just once realize how something would sound before she blurted it out?

Petrie tapped her index finger against her lips thoughtfully. "I'm slightly confused. You are a trained agent, are you not?" Amy nodded, carefully refraining from actually speaking as to not dig herself into a deeper hole. "So why is it that being on a landline of a target would prevent you from using your subterfuge skills and making a simple phone call to your partner, alerting her to your whereabouts and status?"

Amy wracked her brain trying to come up with some feeble excuse to cover up her prior feeble excuse. She knew that she could've just picked up a phone and had a casual conversation with Max about where she was and who she was with and informed that she'd be staying the night. "I guess I just wasn't thinking," Amy finally admitted, because she really wasn't thinking about how many rules she was breaking when she was with Lucy. All she could see and think about last night was the girl in question and how to get closer to her.

"Not thinking is the very thing that can cost lives, so I would caution you to take heed the next time you're faced with such a simple decision such as accountability."

"Yes ma'am," Amy readily agreed.

"Now that that's out of the way, I must say, I'm still a little confused at something here. I've read the reports of this particular mission and I'm surprised to see that nothing has been mentioned that may lead me to believe that Ms. Diamond trusted you enough to let you into her home, let alone her bed. Tell me, has something taken place over night that I should be aware of as far as this case is concerned?"

Amy visibly blanched, and once again her eyes darted to Max who had now adopted a more alarmed look. Amy heard shuffling on the other side of her, and turned her head to see Janet trying to make herself invisible in couch. They all were equally responsible for that little tidbit of information being left out of the report.

It was also very clear to Amy that the last thing her boss was suffering from was confusion about the situation. It was equally as clear however that she was going to be forced to come right out with the truth. She looked briefly at Max, hoping her partner was going to jump in and help her out; it had been her idea after all. Unfortunately Max continued to stand in silence. Great.

"Well as you know we had been making very little progress infiltrating the Reynolds' organization."

"Vaguely yes," Petrie quipped mockingly.

"Right, well uh, once Lucy arrived back in the states, we had a one in a million chance at meeting her, so of course we promptly jumped at it," Amy paused, really not wanting to get into this with the formidable woman. She was sure it was going to end with them being removed from the case, and more than likely getting suspended, demoted, or outright fired. "Well after that first meeting, it quickly became apparent that Lucy might have an uh…interest in me."

Petrie pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I can only assume this interest was not in you and your partners racing ability?"

At that sake of having her ability questioned as inadequate, Max finally decided to speak up.

"Uh Ms. Petrie, I can assure you that it was my racing ability that got us the invite to begin with. We were simply playing a hunch and…," Max trailed off as Ms. Petrie held up a dismissive hand at her and motioned for Amy to continue.

Amy saw Max bristle at the slight, but the last thing she was worried about at the moment was her partner's wounded pride. Max hadn't wanted to help her out with this situation so she was going to just have to deal with it.

Amy shook her head. "As Max said, we were going on a hunch that Lucy would be more receptive to me as opposed to Max's racing skills. I mean why she would care about another thrill seeking gear head when she already had dozens on her payroll just seemed insubstantial and like it wouldn't work," Amy threw in there just for insult as she looked in traitorous partner's direction.

"But it was just a theory," Amy added when Petrie simply sat there and studied her silently, rushing to fill the uncomfortable void. "I know it was against protocol, and that we should have checked in with HQ first, but the opportunity just presented itself and we decided to run with it when it appeared that it was working and it seemed silly to let it pass without taking advantage of it."

"You find the DEBS section code silly?"

Amy blinked in surprise. "What? No! I just… there wasn't time to get it cleared, and after the plan looked like it would work we were afraid that we would get pulled for not following protocol."

"This is a top priority case which is why I implanted Joan here with the two of you," Ms. Petrie motioned to Janet, "She is your direct liaison to me and could have easily gotten this cleared within hours. So this means not only did you all knowingly disobey protocol, you flagrantly decided to hide the violation to achieve your own goals."

"Ms. Petrie I wanted to tell you, but I…," Janet blurted out and was also given a dismissive hand.

"You know Angela," Amy wisely let the error in name go uncorrected, but couldn't let go of the fact that it grated on her last nerve that this woman could not remember her name! "I have had my eye on you since you first entered the academy." Amy knew she looked shocked by this because Petrie chuckled slightly. How is it that she's been watching her since day one and couldn't remember something as simple as her name after all these years?

"Don't look so surprised. A student with a perfect score doesn't just skate by unnoticed by the department heads. I wanted to make sure you were living up to your full potential as a spy, but more importantly, as a D.E.B. While you have always performed admirably in your classes and on your assignments I never saw anything particularly special in you." Petrie cocked her head to the side, eyeing the blonde critically. "You were always content to follow the rules and let others take the lead. I am actually surprised that we find ourselves in this position."

Petrie walked towards the blonde and stopped just inches away from her. Amy cringed internally at the invasion of her personal space by such an ominous figure. She was sure that this was it; she was about to be handed her walking papers and she couldn't' help but think that it may not actually be a bad thing.

She could get as far away as possible from supervisor's who didn't remember her name, partners that always questioned her and she'd get to freely be with the woman of her dreams. Okay, so Amy knew she wouldn't be able to be with her freely, seeing as she would probably always be hunted by some law enforcement agency, but she did love a challenge. Amy cleared her throat as she saw that she was being regarded by everyone in the room. A small smile graced Petrie's lips as she eyed the nervous blonde.

"Good job Ms. Bradshaw. In fact your valor should be commended; so I'm promoting you to team leader."

"What?" All three girls cried at the same time.

Petrie flicked her gaze back and forth between them. "Don't look so surprised ladies. While following the rules to the letter of the law is an important trait to have in most of our agents, after all there would be anarchy if everyone disregarded the rules, there is also a need for a special few to occasionally throw off the yolk and reach their true leadership potential. Maybe the test wasn't wrong about you after all."

Petrie rested a firm hand on Amy's shoulder and a slight smirk crossed her lips. "I think you identify with Lucy Diamond, she sees your pathos. You've got some dangeroussymbiosis going on and we can use that to our advantage. So if she has indeed taken in interest in you then for all intents and purposes you are our leading expert here."

"Oh, I don't think I'm an expert…," Amy went on to say but was cut off.

"Don't underestimate yourself Amy. If Lucy Diamond seems to be responding to your womanly charm then I don't oppose to you using that to get this mission accomplished. She is after all our most notorious foe and by any means necessary I wish for her to be taken down, if you know what I mean." Petrie shot Amy a knowing look.

A blush crept its way up Amy's neck at what her boss was implying, because yes, she did in fact know what she meant. She briefly looked to Max to see and saw the furious gaze that had settled on the face of her former team leader as she stepped forward.

"Excuse me ma'am," Max interjected, getting the attention of the head D.E.B., "but I am team leader. I always have been."

Ms. Petrie regarded Max for a moment. "I don't have time for bruised egos, this isn't the Girl Scout's it's espionage! Now I have more important things to attend to today so I will leave you to it." She strode confidently to the door before pausing and turning back. "Though do be sure to keep Jill informed of your progress, just because your initiative is to be commended I do still expect regular, fully informed status reports."

"Of course," Amy managed to stutter out through her shock. With that Petrie, and Phipps who had remained silent the whole time, left the trio in stunned silence.

"She got your name right," Janet finally stated in surprise, breaking the quiet.

Amy shook off the fog of confusion that had descended; that was definitely not how she had pictured things playing out. "What?" she asked the still stunned brunette.

"Ms. Petrie never remembers anyone's name. You must have really made an impression."

"Well of course she did, when she took all the credit for a team effort," Max complained bitterly.

Amy whirled to confront her pissed off partner. "Don't even try to lay this on me Max. You had ample opportunity to chime in and let Petrie know it was your plan but you preferred to sit there like a statue and throw me under what I'm sure you thought was going to be a bus."

"You still could have corrected her when it became clear she wasn't pissed off about it," Max griped.

"Whatever Max," Amy replied, not in the mood to deal with her partner's mercurial attitude. "Just like you could have covered for me with Petrie this morning. Instead of calling her!" Amy put her hands on her hips and glared at her partner. "Did you really think it was in the best interest of the mission to report you had no idea where I was?"

"You were AWOL," Max insisted stubbornly.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Please, like you couldn't have deduced where I went? C'mon Max don't pull that crap with me. You were the reason why I had to go after Lucy in the first place!"

"I was the reason?"

"That's right Max, you and your showboating. Lucy wants to pull you from the Vegas race because you can't follow simple directions. All she did was ask you not to race before Vegas, and just like always, you blatantly disregarded her. If I remember correctly, we're supposed to _all_ be playing roles here."

"She's right Max," Janet piped in. "It was agreed that we all take on some kind of role for the sake of the mission, even though you guys could've given me something more to do besides play the freeloader, but hey I'm not complaining about it," Janet said flippantly. "I just wished you'd have a little more regard for this team as a whole and stop thinking about your own selfish motives and your pride. You should've listened to Lucy, even though you didn't want too."

"Thanks," Amy smiled warmly at the younger D.E.B, expressing her gratitude for sticking up for her as she usually did where Max was concerned.

"Yes Janet, thank you very much for your unwanted opinion." Max scowled before turning her attention back to the blonde D.E.B. "And you," she pointed at Amy, "just because you want to play lapdog to your new girlfriend, doesn't mean I have to. She wants to pull me from the race then whatever, you just make sure I get back on."

"How is that _my_ problem Max?" Amy yelled.

"It's not Bradshaw, it's _our_ problem…we're a team remember? And now as team leader, you need to figure out a way to get me back on with Team Diamond since you're the reason we've gotten this far." Max said as she crossed her arms smugly across her chest.

Max's sarcasm wasn't lost on Amy and she rubbed a hand roughly across her brow. Just how the hell was she going to do that? She didn't even know if _she_ was still apart of "Team Diamond" with the way things were left between her and Lucy this morning. She shook her head at the situation; she would simply just have to wait to see if Lucy would call. If not, there was no rule about her not being able to call her. Surely this cold attitude Lucy had adopted towards her was per her usual bipolarity, something Amy figured she'd be used to by now considering Lucy had been hot and cold with her since day one.

"All this still doesn't change the fact that you should have checked in with one of us before you took off," Max insisted hotly, not wanting all the blame lying on her.

"Like I told Ms. Petrie, there wasn't time. Lucy was upset and she was bolting. I couldn't just let her leave!"

"And you couldn't even call? We're partner's Amy we have to stick together in this and not just going running off all half-cocked and without any notice. Seriously? What if something had happened to you?"

Amy heard the genuine concern in her friend's tone; it was a rarity so it was easy to spot when she heard it. She sighed knowing she possibly would've been concerned if the situations were reversed and it was Max or Janet that had left with no word. "Look Max I'm sorry okay, but it's like I said, there wasn't a chance to call you before Lucy and I went to bed."

Max glared at her partner, letting Amy know that the moment of caring was over. "Oh yeah, and about _that_. You're sleeping with her now?"

"Yes…I mean no, not like that." Amy blushed, flustered. "We shared a bed, but nothing happened." Amy thought she heard what sounded like a disbelieving snort coming from Janet and shot a glare in the smaller girl's direction.

"Nothing happened?" Max questioned, clearly not believing the blonde.

Amy shook her head. "No, nothing happened."

Max scoffed. "I find that hard to believe."

Amy bristled at her partner's attitude. "Look Max this was mainly your idea, so you can't exactly get pissed off now that it seems to be working."

"The plan was to lead her on, spark her interest, not to sleep with her! We're federal agents not prostitutes."

Amy fought every instinct in her body to lash out physically at her partner. One, the last thing she needed was to escalate this into something the two of them couldn't move past, and two, she was pretty sure Max would kick her ass.

"I told you _nothing happened_," Amy repeated while stressing the last two words since it appeared her partner just wasn't getting it.

"And how long do you think that is going to last?" Max challenged. "Especially now that you've pretty much been given permission, encouraged even to put out for her."

"I don't know," Amy shrugged, "but Lucy isn't like that."

"Like what? The kind that wants to have sex? Because if the encounter with Riley that we walked in on when we met Lucy in her office is anything to go by, I'd say she's _exactly_ like that," Max chided.

"That's not what I meant," Amy bristled, not wanting to be reminded of that little indiscretion. "What I'm saying is she's respectful and wouldn't force me to do anything I don't want. She doesn't mind waiting."

"Well isn't she sweet," Max replied disdainfully and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Look Max, all I know is that right now we're moving forward and making progress… progress that Ms. Petrie is happy with. Like she said, sometimes you have to bend the rules a little bit and step out from behind the safety of the rule book if you want to make things happen," Amy tried explaining.

"Well the next time you decide to bend the rules Bradshaw, I'd like a little heads up, but oh wait," Max held up a hand as if she was just remembering something, "You're team leader now, you don't have to consult with me, you can just do whatever the hell you want."

"Isn't that always how _you_ saw it?" Janet asked snidely under her breath and then immediately stood and headed towards the kitchen as Max fixed her with another deadly glare. "I'll just go and um…do…uh some reporting," she said ramble off and disappeared into the kitchen.

Thinking that an escape sounded far better right now than continuing with a discussion that they had already had, and one that she was sure was just going to rehash the same old ground, Amy sighed heavily and ran a frustrated hand over her face. She'd just dodged a proverbial bullet with her superior and she really wasn't in the mood for this.

She had bigger problems to figure out right now, like why her pretend girlfriend of less than twenty-four hours was acting like anything but when she'd dropped her off. So with another heavy sigh and one last look to the last girl standing in the room, Amy turned and made her way towards her bedroom.

Short of stepping inside of her bedroom door, Amy stopped and turned around, "And for the record," she stated getting the attention of her hotheaded partner, "I don't even want to be team leader!" That said, Amy walked into her room and slammed her door.

* * *

Taking up her usual position, Riley sat with her feet propped on her desk. She had one arm lying against it as she rhythmically tapped a finger against the hand crafted wood while the other was resting against the arm of the chair and her hand gripped the cushion. To an onlooker the brunette appeared to be the picture of calmness, but contrary to her outer appearance, that was not the case.

Her aunt had called earlier that day and announced that she would be arriving in L.A. to discuss 'family matters' with her. Aside from the occasional phone call, Riley had little contact with the older woman, and normally a visit from her aunt under any circumstance would be met with great enthusiasm from her. However, her deciding to make an actual appearance now was extremely alarming for the youngest Schaffer.

There were only a few occasions that Riley could think of that would warrant a visit from her elusive aunt. No one had died and she knew she didn't have any legal matters pending, so knowing that her aunt kept an eye on the books, it was more than obvious that the family's less than stellar end of second quarter portfolio had something to do with it.

The last thing Riley wanted right now was her aunt scrutinizing the choices she had made or more accurately, the ones she had fail to make since becoming head of the family. She was well aware that she didn't have the vast academic and world knowledge that her aunt likely possessed, but although she was still young, Riley was not inexperienced when it came to the inner workings of the criminal underworld.

Her father, Quinton Schaffer, albeit a very callous and ruthless man, had made it a point to soften his stance when it came to his only daughter. He had thoroughly taught Riley the ins and outs of the syndicate to ensure his successor wouldn't be a willing target for anyone, especially the Reynolds.

Much like her father had, Riley ruled with a fierce hand and a stern disposition. In the aftermath of the bloody Reynolds/Schaffer feud and during her short time as family head, Riley had managed to keep her family afoot in the extremely volatile and competitive environment. When businesses and profits were lost in one area, Riley made sure to compensate by assuming control and increasing revenue in others.

Under Quinton's rule, the Schaffer's had always maintained the number two status, and here today, as leader, Riley found herself in the same position. Even though it was a respectable position it still made her a susceptible target for a takeover. Her only option was to capitalize on the fact that Lorenzo Reynolds was now deceased and focus her attention on surpassing the family with the number one spot now that his successor, the notorious Lucy Diamond was missing in action.

Riley saw an opportunity and exerted her family's position and went in and took control over some of the more attractive, albeit smaller business's on the ocean front that neither she or the Reynolds controlled. Water front property was always a good source of income and controlling the waterway and the area around it was a guaranteed gold mine for the holding family. Plus, it allowed her to keep an eye on the timing of the comings and goings of the other family's shipments. It was a good set up for the Schaffer's and proved lucrative for everyone involved.

One variable Riley didn't count on was for Lucy to return. There had been some speculation that the Reynolds heir would stay in Japan where she was more than embraced by the Yakuza and have her American holdings dismantled and distributed between the remaining families. It would've made no difference to Riley which piece of the pie she got, her goal was to end up with it all anyway.

However, when Lucy had indeed decided to prove them all wrong and take her place back in L.A. as well as keeping her foreign relations to the Japanese mafia intact, Riley knew that wouldn't bode well for her plans to overtake L.A. Not only was the Reynolds the largest syndicate in North America with their headquarters stationed in Riley's own back yard, she also had the support of the largest syndicate in the Eastern hemisphere backing her.

Her only options were to either lay low, which in the business she was in, wasn't really an option at all or to ally herself with a few of the smaller surrounding families. The goal was to gain enough support from them to make a move on the Reynolds and overthrow and then dismantle them, which would leave the Schaffer's in a position to acquire all the more desirable fronts and strategically issue out the others as she saw financially fit.

That had been the only option until Riley got the idea to cut everyone else out altogether and go straight to the source. Lucy. The offer had been almost immediately shut down by Riley's ex-lover and no matter how she dangled the prospect of a merger between the two families, Lucy just wasn't biting. In fact, it seemed Lucy had taken every opportunity to thwart any move forward that she had made, thus sending her three steps backwards and into a financial rut.

Over the course of a few weeks, the Reynolds had managed to restore control over the holdings that it had taken her months to acquire, and to add insult to injury, Lucy had given them back to the original owners instead of monopolizing. Other than making a fool out of her, Riley wasn't clear on Lucy's motives seeing as her ex-girlfriend refused to take any conversation she tried to have about business seriously, but what she did know was that she was done falling in line for Lucy Reynolds, professionally as well as romantically. Some changes definitely had to be made.

"Deep in thought dear?" Riley's attention was broken and her gaze shifted to the feminine figure walking through the door, followed by her right hand, Frank.

"Without deep reflection, one knows from daily life that one exists for other people," Riley quoted then smirked satisfactorily when she saw a small smile and an impressed look cross her aunt's features.

"Ah very good, it appears you were able to retain some of the knowledge I tried to instill in you even if it wasn't proper etiquette," the older woman replied as she stood behind the desk and look glaringly at Riley's booted feet that were still atop of the desk before she looked disapprovingly at her niece.

Riley remained in position and raised an amused brow at her aunt as she crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. She held the icy gaze that stared back at her, determined to be victorious in the staring contest she and her aunt were locked in. After all, it was her desk and this was her office where she did as she pleased, and if she wanted to put her feet on every raised surface in it, she would.

"Remove your feet from the desk Riley and let's get started shall we?" Her aunt commanded and sat her briefcase on the desk and took the offered seat that Frank had pulled out for her.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Riley swung her feet off the desk and planted them heavily on the floor. Even though she wanted to protest further and exert her position as head Schaffer in the room, there was always something about her aunt that demanded respect and caused her to yield to her requests. One day however, Riley was determined to prevail in one of their battle of wills.

Shooting an evil glare at Frank, _her_ right hand man, who had remained at her aunt's side, she positioned herself properly behind the desk. "What no pleasantries, Auntie? Just straight to the point then I see."

"This is a matter that requires some sense of urgency Riley, and although I wish I were here under more pleasant circumstances, we cannot entertain pleasantries right now. Now shall we get down to why I'm here or do you want to continue throwing youthful tantrums? It's really of no difference to me; I get paid by the hour."

"Funny, I don't recall asking for any assistance," the younger girl replied and placed her arms onto the desk smiling sweetly at her aunt.

"I am the eldest member of this family and I also serve as Consigliere so I am well within my rights to assert my position on both counts when it comes to how you're running this organization. This means I do not need permission to engage in family matter, Riley."

"No ma'am…I don't suppose you do," Riley said as she sat up straighter. "Now what brings you all the way from…," the brunette paused and made a gesture with her hand, "wherever it is you came from?"

Ever since she was a child, Riley didn't know a particular location that her aunt resided. She always assumed New York, but she could neither confirm nor deny the location considering she had never visited or had been privy to knowing where she called home. Riley didn't find this particular thing odd seeing as her aunt was sent away by her own father when she was a teenager to receive a higher education in law.

He even went as far as to change her surname to that of his mother's maiden name. This served as a way to keep her protected and better position her outside of the organization as to help the family when needed, and needless to say, she did her job exceptionally well seeing as the Schaffer's were never in any real trouble with the law.

The aunt reached over to open her briefcase and pulled out a pair of glasses and then slide them on before pulling out a folder. She began thumbing through it while sounding off with a series of disapproving murmurs before peering over the rim of her glasses at her niece. "You are aware of the receding quarterly gross profit margin?"

It came out as a question but Riley knew she wasn't being asked but rather being told. This time Riley did roll her eyes because of course she was aware of their financial situation as of late, but she knew that it was her aunt's way of chiding her for an explanation.

"Yes, I'm well aware of the dismissal outcome of our end of second quarter Auntie, it's my job to know after all," Riley stated bitterly.

"And do you have an explanation for this? It's seems like a sudden change in direction for the profit margin, so surely there has to be a reason for such a dramatic decrease," her aunt asked as she continued to glare at Riley condescendingly.

Riley's eyes darted to Frank, who only stood motionless with his arms folded across his chest. She should've known the big lug would be of no assistance where her aunt was concerned. She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but it was something that she noticed whenever he would look at her aunt or talk about her.

She shuddered to think that they were romantically involved, besides, that seemed nearly impossible seeing as her aunt was never around and Frank always was. However, stranger things have happened with her family, especially where romantic involvements were concerned. Whatever it was, Riley surely was going to have to have a talk with him about loyalties. Even though they were all on the same side, she still expected him to stand by her side literally and figuratively, no matter what.

The young brunette sighed deeply and clasped her hands together in a calming manner before placing them on top of her desk. "Well as I told you when we spoke before, Lucy's back in town and it seems she's not all that pleased with the way I've been running things."

Riley's aunt raised a curious brow, apparently expecting more of an explanation, but when Riley failed to continue she placed the folder down on the desk and removed her glasses.

"Is that all you have to say for yourself young lady?"

"What more do you want me to say?" Riley threw her hands up in frustration and sat back in her chair heavily.

"I want you to tell me how you allowed this to happen?"

"How I…are you kidding me?" Riley bristled. "I didn't _allow _anything to happen…Lucy went in and offered control back to the owners with no obligation required to the Reynolds family. Not only that but she offered the added protection from her family so that no one is able to go back in and try to take control. I'm sure what she's offering sounded a lot more appealing than what I or any other family have offered."

"Yes, I can see how a proposition of that nature would be agreeable for them. However, I'm sure it's not as simple as that. Lucinda is a smart and resourceful girl, surely she has ulterior motives." The eldest Schaffer added.

"Oh I'm sure she does," Riley agreed, "the Reynolds still control the docks, and as charitable as Lucy may want to portray herself to be I know the agreements made won't be without consequence. I'm sure she'll call in the occasional favor."

"So what are you planning to do?" The aunt asked calmly as she sat back in her chair, crossed her legs and rested her clasped hands in her lap.

Riley pressed her lips together tightly and rubbed roughly at her brow as she thought over the million dollar question. Just what was she going to do?

"Well the Reynolds have everything at the dock on lockdown, other than using lethal force there's not much I can do about the property loss that won't have some type of equally lethal backlash, something I'm trying to avoid. However, I have a few angles that I'm in the process of working out." She finally responded and glanced briefly at her aunt to gauge her reaction. Truth was, she really had no clue what she was going to do, but there was no way she was going to tell her aunt that.

"Does one of these angles happen to include your little racing hobby?" The aunt asked as she reached for the folder she'd previously placed on the desk and once again began to thumb through it. "Because I can assure you that losing five million dollars in a single race isn't a process we can afford to keep considering."

Riley's gaze shifted icily to Frank. She opened her mouth to berate him but her aunt held up a hand to stop her rant.

"Now now Riley, don't go blaming Franklin. You should know that I have access to all accounts and I checked them often. I also know that you've invested quite a hefty amount in this upcoming race that is held in Las Vegas every year."

"It's the buy in price for a spot," Riley explained.

"Yes dear, I am well aware of the specifics of the race and I've never been particularly fond of this type of business pursuit for our family. I do however understand that it has been something you've enjoyed since your teenage years, but as head of this family I expect you to act as such and I encourage that you put away such childish endeavors and act accordingly so that you're able to make sound and profitable business decisions."

"This childish endeavor has enabled me to rake in millions over the past seven years!" Riley yelled and slammed her hand down against the desk. She'd had enough of her aunt's condescending manner. "You're watching the books, you should know that! Or did you think Daddy just pulled 20 million dollars out of his ass every year?"

"There's really no need to be crude Riley, you were raised better than that."

Riley stared incredulously at her aunt. Here she was at her boiling point and there the other woman sat, cool as a cucumber and wearing the slightest of smirks on her face.

"Just like everything else you've managed to accomplish in her absence, Lucinda Reynolds' has thwarted every attempt at progress you've made since she has returned. What makes you think she won't take this racing dream of yours away as well?"

This was the very reason Riley was dreading this visit. Although she and her aunt generally got along, albeit at a distance, Riley knew she was tough and spoke her mind. Her father had complained about her being a thorn in his side on many occasions, but being that her aunt never spoke about business with her and was the one that kept the secret about hers and Lucy's relationship, Riley never saw the callous side of her. In a matter of a few short minutes, her aunt had managed to make her feel incompetent and unfit as a leader. Riley now knew what it was her father had been complaining about.

Riley took a calming breath before she spoke again. Even though her aunt was grating on her last nerve, she really didn't want to prove her right and portray herself in a childlike manner. "Lucy can't control or manipulate any of the variables of this race Auntie, so I'm quite confident that what I have planned will guarantee my victory."

"If she can't control them, what makes you think you can?"

"Because I have a driver in mind that I'm willing to bet every dime I have will annihilate the competition. They simply won't be beaten by mere drag racers." Riley explained.

"That's your plan? You're staking millions on a driver that you _think_ is unbeatable?" The aunt asked dubiously.

"I am," Riley simply stated. "And I would appreciate it if you'd instill a little confidence that I know what I'm doing."

"Riley, I know how much racing means to you and I know you're good at it, I just don't want you to put all your faith in this and be disappointed if Lucinda once again proves to be better at what she does than you. However, I do wish you the best of luck at your race dear."

Riley scoffed at the insincere words of her aunt. It was what adults did to children to placate them and shut them up, but she knew she couldn't let her aunt shatter her confidence over the upcoming race; it was something she couldn't afford to lose.

"Now back to primary business and what we're going to do about the Reynolds…,"

"What _we're_ going to do?" Riley questioned as she sat up straighter in her chair.

"Yes, _we_…like I said, I am a part of this family and I will not simply just sit back and watch what my father built dwindle away at the hands of a Reynolds or anyone else for that matter."

"You should listen to her Riley. Trust me, she's knows what she's doing and has never failed to pulled this family out of a bind," Frank finally spoke up from his position.

"It speaks!" Riley threw her hands up and yelled a little more enthusiastically than necessary, but she was pissed. "You finally decide to add your two cents in Frank and it's to agree with my aunt. Go figure."

"Franklin knows just like I do what it takes to keep a business such as ours running Riley. It would be better of you to show a little respect and listen to what we have to say."

"Fine Auntie…I'm all ears," Riley waved her hand in a 'go ahead' gesture towards her aunt but not before sending a malicious look in Frank's direction.

"Thank you," the aunt smiled warmly at her niece and once again opened her briefcase and pulled out a second folder and considered it before handing it to Riley.

Riley took the folder and opened it and began skimming through the pages. She peered over her desk and watched as her aunt and Frank began going through a folder of their own. She narrowed her eyes when she saw Frank leaned down to point something to her aunt and she laughed heartily at whatever it was he'd said.

"Where'd you get these?" She finally asked when she realized she was looking at the quarterly reports of businesses that were _not_ there's. There was the legal business reporting that was public knowledge, but then there was the not so legal numbers that never should be made public or owned by your enemies. What they all held in her hands was an IRS agent's dream come true. Her aunt had about a dozen dossiers that belonged to families in the area as well as the surrounding area.

"Where I got them is of no concern Riley," her aunt replied, "Just what they imply."

Riley narrowed her eyes at her aunt and once again bit her tongue against lashing out at her. With an exasperated sigh she turned her attention back to the reports in front of her and read over them carefully. With a slight frown she noted the timeframe in which each report was generated and saw that each was not long after Lucy had returned. In looking at the numbers, Riley realized that each of the families along with hers had something in common.

"So all of these other families have suffered a loss within the past few weeks as well?" Riley stated more than questioned. "Looks like Lucy's been a busy girl. I can't imagine what she's gaining out of all of this aside from making us all look like fools," she mused to herself.

"It's not a matter of what she has to gain Riley; it's a matter of control. Just as her father was, Lucinda is extremely narcissistic and has absolutely no concern for others."

Riley's frown deepened at her aunt's words. She didn't want to believe that Lucy was anything like her father, but there was the fact that Riley didn't actually _know_ the man. The secrecy of hers and Lucy's relationship didn't allow for meeting or having family dinners with the parents. All that she did know was second hand, mainly passed on by her own family, which didn't leave a good impression.

On one hand, if Lucy was indeed like her father, Riley couldn't help but think that Lorenzo Reynolds was nothing but a loving and sincere man, after all, that was what the girl she'd fallen in love with was like. But on the other, Lucy obviously wasn't a 'girl' anymore nor was she the girl she'd fallen for all those years ago. Her actions of late were nothing but that of a cold and deceptive business woman, a woman she knew nothing at all about.

"Now, our only chance at regaining what we've lost is to increase our numbers, form alliances in as well as outside of the area. That said, I've taken the liberty to speak with a few of the family heads that we have profiled here…," the elder started.

"You've taken the liberty?" Riley's head shot up and she bristled at her aunt setting up meetings that she didn't consult with her about. It was this type of blatant disrespect for her position as family head she would not continue to tolerate.

"Yes Riley, while you've been out chasing pipe dreams of a merger with the Reynolds, I've been trying to figure out ways to counteract them. What we're dealing with here is a matter of numbers, and it's quite simple, the Reynolds have more. So what I've come up with is a strategy to increase our manpower and have a fighting chance at bringing them down a notch…or for good."

Riley jumped up hastily and slammed her hand down on her desk. "Whatever it is you're planning, you should've come to me first!"

"Now hold on Riley, don't be upset with your aunt about this okay?" Frank's raucous voice sounded off for a second time as he rounded the desk an approached the younger girl. "It was me who told her about your idea to bring in some of the other families and she thought it was a good idea too. It was your original plan after all."

Riley knew Frank was right. It was indeed her original plan to have a sit down with the other families and discuss joining forces to overthrow the Reynolds when Lucy didn't immediately return. However, she had abandoned that idea as soon as she'd laid eyes on her former lover and formulated the plan to get her to join forces instead. Lucy's constant denial of her offer, coupled with her lack of romantic interest was now forcing Riley to rethink her strategy once again. Plus, it was the fact that her aunt had overstepped her boundary as merely a legal counselor and put the plan into action that had Riley's feathers so ruffled.

"That's not the point Frank! I have a right to know about any deals or moves being made on behalf of this family!" Riley yelled and shot Frank a look of pure malice.

"And now you know," the older woman stated matter-of-factly, disregarding Riley's tantrum. "Now sit down dear, if you keep throwing fits we're never going to get through this."

"I will not be overlooked!" The younger girl yelled again as her gazed shifted between her aunt and her right hand mad.

"And no one is overlooking you Riley. This is why we're all here, to figure this out…together," Frank soothed as he laid a gentle hand on Riley's shoulder.

Riley's head snapped in his direction and she glared icily at him. Her jaw began clenching and unclenching, causing her prominent dimples to appear and then disappear in her cheeks. "Fine," she finally rasped through clenched teeth, "I'll hear you guys out, but you and I are going to have a serious talk when this is over," she pointed to Frank.

"Understood," Frank acknowledged and then gave a nod of his head.

Riley then took her seat and folded her hands calmly on her desk and looked to her aunt. "Continue," she simply demanded.

"I've spoken privately with a handful of the family heads that are laid out in the profiles you've just read, and whereas some of them are not immediately onboard, I do have resources readily available that I can utilize."

"And exactly where or what do these resources consist of?" Riley curiously asked.

"They lie within the Faustino family," the elder woman provided.

"The Faustino's? From Vegas?" Riley asked and then snorted at hearing the name.

Her aunt shot her a disapproving look but continue. "Yes, of course…they've proven very valuable to our family in the past and share a hatred for the Reynolds that run just as deep as ours does…," the aunt tried to explain but was cut off.

"No," Riley simply state before her aunt could continue.

"Riley you have haven't even heard the plan," Frank interjected.

"It doesn't matter…if it involves the Faustino's then it's no deal," Riley asserted. The night of the hangar party the Reynolds' hosted not soon after Lucy's return, she had seen Angelo Faustino enter Lucy's private quarters. Riley knew that when a representative of another family asked for a private meeting with a family head, it's either to ask for a favor, or to collect on one.

Seeing as it was unlikely that the Reynolds owed the lowly Vegas family anything, she knew that it was Angelo doing the groveling. After hearing her aunt say that the Faustino's hated the Reynolds almost as much as the Schaffer's did was a bit concerning to her. If Angelo hates the Reynolds, then why would he be making an effort to try to gain favor with them? She wasn't sure of exactly what was going on, but she was sure it was something.

What she was uncertain of was Lucy's acceptance of whatever he was asking for. However, whether she accepted or not, it meant that the Faustino's were double dealing, which meant they were disloyal and couldn't be trusted. She wasn't sure how resourceful the Vegas clan had been to her family in the past, but what she was sure about was she wanted nothing to do with them now.

"Riley dear, we've already spoken with the Mendoza cartel and a deal has been brokered. They've agreed upon a shipment to the port of Miami, assuring us that Harbor Patrol will not be an issue. It is up to us to take it from there."

"Well un-broker it," the young brunette seethed, "and this is the plan the two of you have conjured up for us? Drugs? Even if I were to go along with this cockamamie scheme, you both know that the treaty doesn't allow for drugs to be dealt in the region."

"It is the only thing that the Reynolds' do not have a hand in. With so many local gangs out there now, it's easy to distribute and it provides quick revenue. And this treaty that you speak of, it was made by men, half of whom don't even exist anymore, and it wasn't unanimous, it was only passed by a majority. So I can assure you it will be well received now. These men just need someone to lead them, show them a different way," her aunt explained.

"And that _someone_ is this family?" Riley watched her aunt and Frank both nod in agreement. Not wanting to hear anymore, she shook her head, pushed her chair back and stood. "Well Auntie, you're just going to have to go back and tell the Faustino's and the Mendoza's that the answer is no…and as head of this family and as the _only_ vote that counts, that's my final answer." With that said, Riley waltzed confidently out the door.

The older woman slowly gathered the papers she had reviewed and tucked them back into her satchel. Standing smoothly she turned to face a frowning Frank.

"You assured me that she wouldn't put up a fight on this Franklin, we simply cannot afford to have her not on board. It doesn't look good if our very own family unit isn't cohesive."

Frank's frown increased in intensity. "She's just been under a lot of stress lately; she'll come around."

"She had better, we can't afford to have infighting in the family when there is a much better target for our energies. You know how costly internal dissent can be."

Frank rubbed absently at the scar on his throat and nodded his head. "She'll come around, I'm sure of it."

* * *

Lucy's hand slammed into the door, effectively pushing it open as she strode through. Eyeing the tray of bagels sitting on Scud's desk, she headed straight for them. "Okay what's this big news you wanted to talk to me about?"

Startled by the sudden and annoyingly noisy entrance of their leader, Scud and Dominique shot each other wary glances.

Noticing the looks she was getting, Lucy cocked her hip against the side and shrugged slightly and took a large bite out of her bagel. "What?" she asked around a mouthful of bread and turned back to the tray to pour herself a glass of orange juice and took a healthy gulp.

"Someone has an appetite this morning," Dominique noted with a grin and sent a wink Scud's way as she sat lazily in her chair smoking a cigarette.

"It's one bagel, that hardly constitutes an appetite," Lucy defended as she took another bite.

"Yeah but you don't eat breakfast, in fact the only time you do is the day of a heist, for some reason you think you may need the extra caloric intake for energy." Scud thought about his owns words and his face fell. "Do you have something planned?" he asked as he scrambled from behind his desk and stood in the center of the room with his head bobbing back and forth between Lucy and Dominique. "Because if you do, I don't know about it, and I can't stress just how so not cool that would be right now!"

Lucy and Dom shared an exasperated look. "Relax Scud," Lucy told him. "We don't have anything planned today. I just skipped dinner last night, that's all…no big deal, right?" she explained and took another bite.

"Ah because you were too busy being dinner for your little project is that it?" Even though it was sordid to think about, Scud beamed at the possibility that Lucy had finally accomplished her mission and the blonde D.E.B. would finally be out of his hair.

"Seriously Scud, I wish you would refrain from commenting on or asking me about my sex life," Lucy told him with a disgusted look.

"Oh but it's okay for Dom to question you down to the slightest detail?" he asked offended.

"See there's the thing, Dom actually has a sex life I can questioned her back about, so it's not all one sided. You see the common factor here buddy?" She looked at him questioningly and smiled brightly when he grumbled something inaudible. "That's right Scud, when you actually get a sex life then come to us and we'll talk about it."

"Well unlike some people in this room I don't have a fetish for government agents," Scud griped.

Lucy frowned, her brows furrowing. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Scud sent the brunette a disbelieving look. "The person you were suspicious of last night? You know, the cute blonde hanging around the bar? You didn't think that it might have been helpful for me to know she was a D.E.B?"

"Oh," Lucy laughed, remembering her attempt to set Scud up. "You mean Janet."

"Yes Janet," Scud reprimanded.

"Well you just admitted that she was cute, and you enjoyed her company, right?" Lucy stated more than asked. "So no harm, no foul."

"Yeah Scud, what's the big deal? You did exchange emails with her didn't you?" Dominique piped in as blew out a plume of smoke.

"I…she…we," Scud started, but couldn't think of a reasonable excuse. "Well it was only so I could further keep an eye on them. You know kind of like what Lucy's doing only without the sleeping together part."

"Good because sex via webcam probably doesn't have the same affect, plus I have to draw the line somewhere and the actual details of my brother's non-existent sex life happen to be it," she said with a disgusted shake of her head before she added, "unfortunately I've already had the displeasure of seeing a dog hump a person's leg, so I know how you'll likely handle the deed."

"There is something deeply disturbing about you," Scud commented seriously, shooting his sister a displeased glare.

"Must be in the gene pool."

"You forget we only share a father," he announced with a smirk.

"Fortunately, because unlike you, it's not where I get my looks," Dominique said with a grin.

Scud held up a finger and opened his mouth to comment, but he didn't have a witty comeback to hit Dom with so he dropped his hand and cleared his throat instead.

"Right, shall we move on?" Not getting an answer, he shared a concerned look with his sister when they both noticed the silence that had suddenly fallen upon their leader and that she seemed to be lost in thought.

Lucy thought back to earlier that morning and how distant she had been to Amy. It made her feel like the biggest scum on the planet, along with a whole range of other emotions, but more importantly, it made her heart ache that she had to let the blonde agent go. If only things could have been different. If only Amy wasn't a part of one of the government's elite paramilitary institutions and was just a normal girl trying to find her place in life. If only she hadn't been born into a life of crime and that was all she knew. If only…oh who was she kidding, if only pigs fucking flew and granted wishes Lucy thought disdainfully, which was never going to happen.

She knew she couldn't continue to second guess her decision, well, any more than she already had of course. It had to be done for her safety as well as that of her family and those she employed. Amy was there to do a job, which meant the blonde was damn good at what she did if her strategy was to get the enemy to fall for her. As protector, Lucy knew she had to do whatever it took to ensure the success of her empire, and no matter how good of an agent Amy proved to be, Lucy knew she had to be better.

From now on, there would be no more consorting with the enemy, she needed to get serious about her leading her organization and not allow herself to get sidetracked by the first hot blonde that happened into her path. She was done with the secret agent once and for all.

With a sigh she snapped out of her contemplative thoughts to see the brother and sister duo staring at her. "What?" She snapped as she looked between the two.

"Nothing," both Dom and Scud replied, sheepish from being caught staring. They couldn't help themselves though; the faraway look in Lucy's eyes had them worried. The only other time she'd spaced out and donned that look was the last time she had gotten her heart broken. For the two, it was not a good look to see on her once again.

"Well alright then, let's get down to business," Lucy said as she stood. "First off, Dom…I need you to do something for me." Seeing Dominique nod in accordance, she continued. "I need you to get the D.E.B.S. blacklisted on the racing circuit…in and out of the city. We don't take their calls and they are not to enter this compound ever again."

"Done," Dominique concerted.

"Scud," she addressed the technical genius next, who she saw was sporting a large grin. "Find something to do about that surveillance center they're fronting as a café and garage. I don't care what you do. Pay some of the local gangs to burn it or dump some rats in their kitchen or something then get the health inspectors to shut it down."

"You do realize it's a government front?" he asked.

"Doesn't matter, they're serving food to the public which means they still have to abide by the health codes. Plus you could always get the media involved; put some attention on the building. I'm sure that'd keep them busy. The last thing they can afford is close scrutiny."

"Wow, she must've been horrible in bed?" Scud joked, but Lucy failed to see the humor in it and resisted the urge to tear into her number two's ass at such a crass statement regarding her girlfriend. _Ex-girlfriend_ Lucy corrected herself, but instead of defending the D.E.B.'s honor, Lucy choose to ignore him.

"Okay Scud, tell me why you interrupted my morning," she asked, wanting to throw herself into her work and forget that slowly and painfully, her heart was breaking.

"For starters," Scud began, "word has it some of the lower families have been meeting. I don't have anything concrete, they simply could be getting together for a friendly game of bingo for all I know, it could be nothing, but I do think we need to keep our eyes and ears open." Scud looked between the pair and saw them nod their agreement. "So that means I'm going to double your security and there will be no dumping them," he lectured causing both girls to roll their eyes.

"Now," he reached over and tapped a few keys on his keyboard and the holographic screen came to life. He tapped a few more commands and live feed of a military compound illuminated the screen. "The new arsenal of weapons that was developed strictly for the military you had me check out a few weeks ago?" Lucy nodded, remembering that the info on that particular deal was given to them by a lowly informant. "Well, they're in and are being held right in our own backyard."

"Where exactly?" Lucy asked as she narrowed her eyes at the screen.

"They're located at NAS Fallon Navy Base, it's in the western part of Nevada and they've been tested and ready for distribution," Scud explained. "I have the layout of the base as well as the location of where the weapons are being stored. And since the military is a creature of habit, I also have their rotation schedule as well the date and times of any deliveries that are going in and out."

"Okay, so we have a timeframe of maybe a week before the vultures start to move in," Dom added and stood to snub out her cigarette in the ashtray that sat on the edge of the desk and walked closer to the screen to get a better look at the layout.

"Yeah, if even that because I'm sure Nicolas the rat didn't just pass this info on to us. How old is this intel?" Lucy asked, trying to put a lock on exactly how much time they had before another family moved in on the shipment.

"Zeta just sent it over this morning, so a couple of hours give or take," Scud provided.

"Okay, so we're looking at what? Seven days max for someone to have a solid plan of action and move on this," Dominique mused as she continued to memorize the base's layout.

"Well I'm sure they don't have my stellar satellite hacking skills or a live view of the base," Scud bragged.

"Let's not make any assumptions," Lucy finally stood and walked over to stand next to Dominique to get a better look at the base as well. "You never know who has a technical geek among their ranks. So this means if it'll take someone seven days to do it the hard way, we have to be prepared to do it in five."

"Right," Dom agreed. "Do we know if there are any security cameras on ground?"

"That is the one factor I can't be sure about," Scud said as he changed the feed to different angles of the base. "There's nothing I can see with the naked eye and I can't ping anything on their network but that doesn't mean they aren't there, and without being able to do an aerial sweep of my own I can't say for sure. It's possible they just haven't hooked them into their network, which is why I can't detect them. For planning purposes we have to assume they are not only there but monitored regularly."

"Well that limits us on infiltration," Lucy contemplated as she turned and absently walked the length of the room deep in thought.

"What are you thinking?" Dominique asked her.

"Scud, you said you had delivery date and times of everything coming and going right?" Lucy asked.

"Yep."

"Okay then, do we have anything going in within this five day window?"

"Hmm," he contemplated as he typed furiously against the keyboard. "Looks like there is some construction going on at the base, private contractors are all over the place, they arrive in the morning and are there til' evening."

"Looks like we have our in," Lucy grinned as she walked over and patted Scud on the back. "It should be simple and hassle-free to create a company with reputable credentials that I could get through those gates right? The rest will be up to the crew."

Scud sent his boss a disbelieving look. "Simple? To set up a new company, with the adequate military clearances to get on base, hack into their systems, make them the primary vendor for the job, in the next…four days?"

Lucy smirked at Scud. "Can you do it?"

Scud huffed. "Well of course I can do it. But it's not exactly simple," the sandy-haired man grumbled. "Plus getting clearance to the base is only one of the issues."

"So what's the other issue?"

"Well you do know that every law enforcement agency on the globe has been watching you like a hawk since you stepped off that jet right? There is no way you aren't going to have a tail, and trying to get you and Dom on a truck and on the base without being spotted will be extremely difficult. Even trying to pull an ole bait and switch with the amount of heat we have on us won't guarantee that it works," Scud reasoned.

"Good point," Lucy nodded as she let the information sink in, knowing Scud was right. The number of agencies she had watching her no matter what country she settled in was the very reason she had to give up her number one love of diamond theft. Although she was a master at it, with all the attention she was attracting, she knew she had to be practical and lay low for a while. Unfortunately for Lucy though, her other not so law abiding business ventures also gained her notoriety. Luckily, no one had ever been able to prove anything.

"So what do we do?" Dominique queried. Lucy could tell she was just as disappointed as she was that they were going to have sit this one out.

"We go ahead as planned…Scud you get the business set up," Lucy ordered, "Dom, we'll just have to put our heads together and see who's going to be the best alternatives if we won't be able to do this ourselves." The pair nodded in agreement and Lucy walked over and sat down once again. "Anything else?"

"Yes," Scud answered as he got up and walked behind the monitor. Lucy could hear him shuffling around before he reappeared carrying a small box in his arms. "I think I may have found out some new information about your dad's death."

That news got both girls attention, Lucy sat up straighter in her chair and Dominique walked around the desk and sat against the edge with her eyes glued to the box Scud had sat on the table.

"What do you know?" Lucy asked in an authoritative tone. She was starting to become bitter about the fact that her father's killer was still out there somewhere. The fact that it was possibly someone in her own organization made things worse because she didn't know if she was shaking hands and trusting her own life to the very person that wanted to take it away.

"So, I've been wracking my brain about how someone was able to pull this off within the confines of the compound, and from what I've deduced it wasn't someone within the organization," Scud began to explain.

"How can you be so sure now? I mean at first it was the only logical explanation, now you're ruling it out. What proof do you have?" Dominique asked the questioned that had run through Lucy's mind. At this point, without any concrete proof, she wasn't willing to rule anyone out.

"Well I've gone over the surveillance of every camera that day, everything was normal and no one was in or out of this compound or that garage that wasn't supposed to be there. So naturally the selected few that did have access to the garage were questioned repeatedly accompanied by a lie detector test that was administered. That entire garage was swept and nothing came up…," he rambled on.

"Okay, okay…I get it Scud, you didn't find anything. We've gone over this already, this isn't news. I thought you said you had something," Lucy fumed and wondered why Scud was relaying to her what they already knew; which was absolutely nothing.

"I do!" he squawked and reached in the box and pulled out a series of photos, laying them out on the table.

"Are these…," Lucy's voiced trailed off as she stood up and looked down at photos that Scud had laid out.

"They are," he confirmed.

"What's the point in showing us this?" Dominique bristled at her brother's lack of sense.

"I have a point, just hear me out okay?"

"You damn well better," Lucy said venomously as she stared down at the photos of the remaining wreckage that was her father's blown up car.

"Okay, so I said this wasn't an inside job. Firstly, if it was I would've flushed this person out by now. Generally speaking, someone pulling an inside job normally will lead you right to them. The likely scenario is that someone was paid to do this. Now that being said, someone being paid to do this would have likely left the state, possibly the country already. If it was an employee, their guilt or the risk at being caught would have made them flee already. No one in the staff has left; we still have the same guys and gal working for us."

"You're still only working on theories here Scud, I need you to get to the fucking point," Lucy seethed; she was tired of him going in circles.

"Right…sorry. Okay so the one piece I was missing in all this, the most important piece I might add was the car. So I made a call down to the precinct and found out that the car was still being held in P&E. I made a few calls and was able to get back and view the actual car." Scud leaned over and tapped on his keyboard and brought up an image of the damaged vehicle. He grabbed his laser point and drew and imaginary circle around the focal point.

"This is the blast area and as you can see it's off to the side of the vehicle, something not associated with a bomb that would be planted underneath the car, which is where someone doing an inside job would generally stick it to keep it out of sight," Scud went on to explain.

"Okay, then what are we dealing with here?"

On his drawing pad, Scud drew circles around objects that at a glance, appeared to be part of the wreckage. "It's hard to see with how damaged the car is but what we have here is shrapnel," he said in way of explanation. "This is what they put in Improvised Explosive Devices, commonly known as IED's or a roadside bomb. If the blast itself doesn't kill the target, they put things in them that can cause secondary blast injuries that can kill or cause some serious damage."

"However, considering the condition of the body, I'm pretty sure it was the blast itself that killed him. Which means those bombs packed a serious punch."

"Bombs? As in more than one," Dom curiously questioned.

"Yes, I think there had to at least have been a second explosion." He added.

"You think?"

"Yes," Scud nodded and once again changed the screen's image and a diagram of a car appeared. "Lorenzo had all of the vehicles reinforced with steel and the gas tanks were wrapped in protective foam to keep them from exploding. So I think the first explosion served to weaken the car and make it more vulnerable for the second." Scud watched as both girls nodded and remained silent.

"Another thing," he said cautiously, knowing that what he was about to throw out there was going to be a shocker. "Only someone who knew that he would take such an extra precaution would be that prepared as to plant a second device. As you know your dad was very careful to keep the details of your mom's death tightly under wraps. Very few people knew that Lorenzo had the cars reinforced after your mother's death, so I think it's possible that the person who's responsible is also responsible for the bomb that killed your mother. Plus there would have been much easier ways to take out your dad, mirroring your mother's death had to have been a message."

Lucy's eyes widened at Scud's revelation. Never in a million years did she think that the two incidents could be related, after all that was more than fourteen years ago that a car bomb had killed her mother. With an aggrieved sigh, Lucy dropped her head in her hands and shook her head.

"How is this possible," she mumbled and looked up. "That explosion happened in the compound, how is that possible that the same person did this? And doesn't that greatly narrow our list of possible suspects?"

Scud grimaced. "I wish I could say yes, unfortunately your dad was no more successful in finding your mom's killer than we have been in finding his."

Lucy sighed again, "Okay…well, anything else?"

Scud brought up two plots of land on his screen and pointed with his laser. "The property has two exits; it was deliberately built that way for the purpose of an ambush. Enemies get in and they have limited room for escape and get boxed in, unfortunately this worked against us as well seeing as it gave us limited means of escape, which is why the underground tunnels were added. However, two exits meant when driving Lorenzo only had two ways to get to anywhere he was going. Meaning whomever set this trap probably had bombs set in both locations seeing as they didn't know which road he'd travel. This also means there had to have been a triggerman…two to be precise."

"Was the other route swept for bombs?" Dom asked.

"No, at least not immediately…so whoever set them had plenty of time to get rid of it. Since then, I've extended our level of security and set up surveillance that goes as far as the main roads. No one gets within 300 yards of this place and me not know it."

"Well it's a little late for that now isn't it," Lucy spat bitterly. "Why was such an obvious weak spot allowed to remain until something like this happened?" Lucy demanded.

Scud opened and closed his mouth soundlessly, not able to think of anything to defend himself.

"Do we at least know who these triggermen were?" Lucy asked wanting to get down to the specifics of the specifics, and move past her accusation.

Scud sighed heavily, "Unfortunately no, and what's even worse is that any material used in making an IED is easy to find, meaning it's pretty much untraceable. Any Joe blow on the street with access to the internet can make one of these things, which is why I think they were used. IED's are low class and cheap to make but as we all know…deadly."

"Okay, so that means I can stop looking over my shoulder when I'm sitting down in my TV room watching Saturday morning cartoons. Scud, that still doesn't tell me who killed my father," Lucy groused, disappointed that they were no closer to finding her father's killer than they were at day one. "So "I need you to stop screwing around and get me a name! Otherwise, calling these little meetings only to tell me you have nothing is…it's just too hard to deal with," Lucy huffed, got up and stormed out.

* * *

Hearing the slight creak as the door swung open, Lucy groaned audible and raised her head from where it had been laying on her desk to see Dominique walking in. "I know, I know…I was out of line."

"Well as long as you know that," the younger girl replied with a slight smile as she walked further into the room and took a seat in one of the chairs placed in from of the desk.

"I didn't mean to snap at him, it's just that I'm sick of the not knowing," Lucy grumbled. "I need someone to be angry at, someone to fight, someone to…" Lucy trailed off and shrugged in frustration as she fought for the words to say.

"To kill?" Dominique finished for her. Lucy nodded slightly as she locked eyes with her friend. "Well at least we can kind of breathe easy now that we know it's not likely someone in the organization, I mean his theories on why it couldn't be are sound to me, so if Scud believes it, then so do I."

"Yeah, it does make it a little easier to know I don't have to worry about finding razor blades in my cereal box," Lucy half joked.

"He is trying though, he barely eats, he sleeps even less than he normally does and he doesn't go out…okay, so he never went out, but you get what I'm trying to say."

Lucy laughed slightly, "Yeah I get it. I'll talk to him; he's no use to anyone if he can barely function." Lucy watched as Dom nodded and then continued to stare at her. She narrowed her brows but was only met with a raised brow. "What?" She asked annoyed.

"So you want to tell me what's going on with you?" Dominique asked as she reached in her case and pulled out a cigarette and went to light it.

Lucy narrowed her eyes at her. "We've talked about that," she told her and motioned to the unlit cigarette.

Dominique rolled her eyes and removed it and returned it back to its case. "Fine," she grumbled, "but don't change the subject."

"I'm not and there's nothing going on with me," Lucy insisted.

"Does it have anything to do with you telling me to blacklist the D.E.B.S?"

"No, because I just told you there was nothing going on, and even if there was, what makes you think she has anything to do with it. This was the plan right?"

"It was, only you didn't sleep with her," Dom goaded.

Lucy narrowed her eye and blew her bangs out of her face. She knew if anyone was able to see through that particular lie, it would be her sex addict friend.

"But then again, it's not like I actually expected you too anyway," the younger girl added.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" The brunette asked annoyed.

"Well it just isn't the way you were made. You're just too damn sensitive," Dominique stated with a nonchalant shrug like she'd just said what should've been obvious to anyone.

"I am not sensitive," Lucy griped and sat up straighter.

"Oh yes you are," Dominique stated, amusement could be heard in her tone. "Even when you're trying to be casual you still end up in what looks like a relationship; you always end up giving a damn."

"And who says I give a damn?"

"This does," Dom made a hand gesture towards Lucy, "this little attitude you have going on right now. You've fallen for her and you're mad because you knew you had to let her go, which is why you didn't sleep with her, because you knew you probably wouldn't be able to."

"And who the hell are you supposed to be? Doctor Phil?"

Dominique laughed at her longtime friend, "No, but I do know you well enough to see that you're crazy about this girl."

"Not that I'm admitting that I am or anything, but even if I were it doesn't matter…she wants to lock me up and throw away the key."

"Oh I don't know if that's exactly true, I think she really likes you."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "She's an undercover agent, you're supposed to think that."

"Yeah but I see the way she looks at you and there's no faking that, she adores you."

"Really?" Lucy asked and flopped back against her chair, unable to help the love-sick smile that formed on her lips. The smile was short lived though, because as if she was shaking herself out of a stupor, the thief grew serious again. "No…with the way I've been acting I seriously doubt she thinks anything of me other than that I'm a freaking head case."

"You are," Dom deadpanned, which earned her a glare from her boss. "Oh c'mon, we all are. Look at who we are and what we do…normal people don't do the things we do. But then again, normal is boring, being badass is way more fun."

Lucy laughed, "Yeah, we are pretty badass."

The two girls fell into a comfortable silence, both seemingly lost in their own thoughts. It was Lucy who finally broke the silence.

"So aside from the whole I want to handcuff you and not in the good way thing, you really think she's into me?" The self-proclaimed badass asked hopeful.

"I do. Plus it's been weeks, has she actually done anything to indicate that she's working so hard to bust you?"

"Well she's kind of been grilling me, trying to get me to talk about what I do. It's really annoying."

Dom rolled her eyes at her friend. "It's called dating Lucy, it's what people do. Ask questions about your past, what you do, what you like."

"Yeah but we know where her questioning me can lead and that's straight to a prison cell. You know prison orange is so not my color," the mastermind replied playfully, but truthfully.

"You know that whole 'what you say can be used against you in a court of law' is bullshit and she has to know that too. It's all a bunch of legal jargon that means nothing unless there's some physical proof to back it up."

"So now you're a lawyer?" Lucy raised an amused brow.

"No, but I've watched enough Ally McBeal to know I'm right. Besides, unless she's wearing a wire, and I hope you have at least gotten far enough to know that she's not, there's no way to even prove what you've said to her anyway."

Lucy smirked at the comment and then ran a frustrated hand through her long hair. "Why are you telling me all of this? I mean you're actually sitting here giving me advice about a D.E.B. no less and it sounds like you're encouraging me."

"I'm not giving you advice nor am I encouraging you, I'm giving you my observations on the matter. I actually don't condone you falling for a D.E.B because even if by some weird twist of fate the two of you did end up together, could you really be able to trust one another after this? I just don't want you ending up being hurt by all of this Luce."

Lucy sighed heavily as she let everything best friend was telling her sink in. Not that any of it mattered anyway because that blue plaid ship had sailed and there was no turning back, because without even having to think about it, she knew that she could never fully trust Amy.

"None of this matters anyway, the D.E.B.S are out of the picture for good," Lucy assured.

"Well you may want to rethink that," Dominique replied cryptically. Lucy raised a curious brow which prompted her to continue. "The gun heist. If we already have eyes on us, we may as well make sure we have all eyes watching us. Our other shipment we're picking up at the docks is long overdue. We could just have it sent earlier than we planned to correspond with the heist and then have the D.E.B.S tag along when we retrieve it. The word will spread like wildfire through the government that Lucy Diamond has something going down at the docks and like little ant foot soldiers, they'll all fall in line leaving the navy base to fend for itself."

"So you want to plan a decoy mission?" Lucy asked rhetorically, knowing exactly what her other number two was saying. Even though what she was suggesting was a brilliant idea, she couldn't get past the fact that she'd have to see Amy again to pull this off. It was a temptation she wasn't sure she could afford to entertain because seeing the blonde agent under any circumstance was sure to make her forget about any ideas she had of letting her go.

"I'm not saying no, but I think we need to do a little more thinking and planning before we resolve to anything just yet," Lucy said as she stood and rounded her desk. "Now, I'm going to find Scud and do a little ego stroking."

Dominique stood as well and folded her arms across her chest as she prepared to leave as well, she really needed a smoke. A sly grin crossed her face, "Well, it is the only stroking he's use too from a woman."

Lucy laughed genuinely as she headed towards the door, "Scud was right, you are disturbing."

"Maybe…but I'm still a badass," came the reply, causing both girls to laugh as they headed out.


End file.
